Mazoku: Battle For The Throne
by jazzymay377
Summary: - Keiko lives in a world where humans and demons live together, but the humans live in poverty. There are daily drills for if a demons attack. She wished for a savior, not knowing it would be the Mazoku prince, Yusuke Urameshi. Rating will change. Chapter 9 up!
1. Chapter 1:Supposed to be just a drill

Yay! My first chapter! It may or may not be boring, but you tell me. Anyway on with the story.

Chapter 1: Supposed to be just another drill

Keiko jumped from her bed as soon as the siren went off. She glanced at the alarm clock, which read six a.m. Keiko sighed. Ever since a youkai had injured a child on the outskirts of the town, the elders were sure an attack was bound to happen. There was no time to put on anything decent so Keiko slipped a jacket over her nightgown, and put on her sneakers.

"Keiko, are you still in there?" called Botan. "The elders will be furious if you don't hurry."

"I'm coming. I'm coming," said Keiko.

Keiko ran out, covering her ears from the droning of the siren. Botan pulled her arm. They ran to the outskirts of their village to the cave where everyone was supposed to gather at. Keiko searched around for the familiar faces of her parents until she saw them talking to Kuwabara.

"Where have you been? Sleeping no doubt. The youkai attacks are becoming more and more frequent in the neighboring villages. We need to stay alert for the sake of our lives." Mr. Yukimura warned.

Keiko looked away, unable to look her father in the eye. Kuwabara shuffled his feet at the awkward moment he'd put himself in. They had waited for what felt like hours, looking to see when the threat would end. Finally the village elders arrived.

"Attention. Line up in rank," commanded Kenjiro, one of the elders.

The entire village was "ranked" on how strong the village would be if you should die in an attack. Fighters of the village were ranked highest. Teens were next for their strength, and for repopulating the village, then builders and wives. Last were the orphans who had wandered into the village. No one knew of their past so according to the elders they were not to be trusted. The elders went down the lines to make sure each person was accounted for.

"Where is Sanosuke? The orphan boy?" Kenjiro asked.

Keiko looked around from her spot. Even to the other orphans, Sanosuke was an outcast. He cried a lot and didn't like to talk to many people. It was no surprise that no one noticed his absence. Keiko was so into her own thought she didn't notice anything usual until…

"PUUUU!"

It was a demon she was sure of, but it looked more like a phoenix. Everyone watched it pass by and head straight toward their village.

"PUUUU!" The beast shrieked out before unleashing an energy blast from its mouth. (Think of it as Yusuke's spirit gun, Pu style.)

Keiko's eyes widened. Botan shook Keiko and pointed. They couldn't see well, but it appeared to be a man, a short man. He jumped from the phoenix- like beast, and the beast turned into… some small floating thing?

"Did you see that, Kuwabara?" asked Botan trembling.

"Yeah, and some guy jumped off that thing. Had they attacked just an hour earlier…we'd all be just ashes."

They looked down somberly. One baby began to fuss and cry. 'Poor child… child? Sanosuke!'

"Sanosuke! He was still in the village!" blurted out Keiko.

"Yeah, but how could he have survived that blast?" asked Botan.

"He could have by some miracle. We have to go check." Keiko demanded. "Kuwabara, you're the strongest fighter in the entire village, please come with us."

Kuwabara nodded. 'I may be the strongest in the village, but I couldn't compete against that blast, and that came from that youkai's pet!'

Nevertheless, they all began to walk. The rest of the village followed, but kept their distance. At least if this monster killed Kuwabara, they could run instead of being sitting ducks in a cave. Keiko's parents pushed to the front in case something happened to their daughter.

The group made it back and saw the youkai. There were fires all around at the center of town, and in the center of the biggest was a man. He was five feet at the most, and had spiky, black hair with ruby eyes. He turned to the horde of humans and smirked.

"I see you've come out your hiding place."

"Yeah, to kick your butt." Kuwabara yelled.

He didn't like the weird vibe this guy gave off. _'He probably kills babies and kittens with a smile.'_ Kuwabara thought.

Kuwabara formed his famous spirit sword, preparing to fight. He ran at the intruder, but the demon simply stepped out the way.

"What?" Kuwabara skidded to a stop. "How did you move so fast? I've never fought a demon with such speed."

"I'm not just any low life demon that could be killed by the likes of you. And as for my speed, I could crawl faster than that. I knew I'd have decrease my power, but I didn't think this much. You truly are a pathetic race. This is the best you could give me?"

"Puu."

The smaller demon flapped his ears up and away from the other demon.

"Going to find your master, are you Pu?"

Keiko was confused. "You mean you aren't his master? Who are you?"

"I am Hiei, and no I'm not that thing's master. You wouldn't want to meet him. His real master is even faster and stronger than I, and not nearly as patient with foolish humans."

"Someone talking about me?"

Keiko gasped. There was a boy that sounded her age. She was seventeen, and that too young for anyone to be as strong as Hiei had said. He was still too far to see, but she saw he was carrying a child in his hands.

"That monster has a child with him!" someone shouted.

Kenjiro stared harder at the boy approaching. "The only child unaccounted for was Sanosuke. If it is indeed him, any event that befalls him is his own fault."

Botan and Keiko stared in shock. The elder just told them to discard a child! The demon holding the boy was fuming. The demon picked up a rock and threw it at the elder's side. The crowd heard the crack as one of his ribs broke. Kenjiro coughed up some blood before the pain made him lose consciousness.

"A little touchy today, Yusuke?" Hiei smirked.

"You humans are all the same. You act all self-righteous and innocent when demons attack, but when you have the chance to save someone, a child, then no one wants to move."

Sanosuke had been buried deep into the crook of Yusuke's neck, but he peeped out to see what Yusuke had done to Kenjiro. He smiled and clung on to Yusuke tighter. Yusuke glanced at Sanosuke before setting him down.

"You're leaving me? Already?"

Yusuke looked back at the child. "Kid, I'm a demon who doesn't have time for babysitting."

Sanosuke gripped his leg, sniffling. "Please. Let me stay with you. I don't eat or talk a lot. I can run really fast, and I could get really strong if you trained me."

Kuwabara watched dumbfounded as Sanosuke continued to name off things he could do. Hiei scoffed. After all he'd said about Yusuke, he turns soft instead of killing the kid. He knew Yusuke would let him join them. After all Sanosuke did remind Yusuke of himself in more ways than one.

"Sanosuke, you don't have to go with them. You're safe here," reminded Botan, trying to encourage him to stay.

Sanosuke gave her a deadly glare before pleading with Yusuke. Yusuke gave a small smile before ruffling his hair.

"Fine, but when we fight, stay out our way. Stay here one more night to get whatever you'll need. I will come back for you tomorrow evening."

Sanosuke sniffled again. "You're not coming back."

Yusuke sighed. "Here, take Pu. He's my spirit beast. He, in a weird way, is me. When I come back for him, I'll come for you too."

Yusuke turned to walk away, Hiei scowling behind him.

"PUU!" Pu cried out as he floated on Sanosuke's head. Keiko couldn't help but smile at the scene.

Kaemon, another elder, cleared his throat. "Prepare yourselves for an attack when they come back. Take any valuable that isn't too badly burned. Assemble yourselves with your raid groups, take shelter in the homes at the outskirts of the village."

Two men picked up Kenjiro while the rest of the village rounded up all the supplies they needed. Keiko turned to ask Sanosuke why he wanted to travel with a bunch of demons, but he was already gone. She instead caught up to Yuki and Ami in her raid group. Botan was also in her raid group, but Keiko couldn't find her. She knew from the excited looks on their faces, she wouldn't get a lot of sleep that night.

_'What an interesting day. Very interesting.'_

Yeah, that was kinda short,and rushed. I just needed to introduce the characters. I hope I didn't put them to shame. Things will get better. Anyway the next chapter Yusuke and Keiko, as well as Botan and our favorite fox Kurama meet. Hint Hint. Couples. I don't know how Kuwabara can meet Yukina, but I'll try before this thing is over. Raizen will also be in here. Actually a big part. Well I'm making this up as I go so I can't say more than that. Please review. It'll make me finish this even faster.


	2. Ch 2: There's charm, then there's Yusuke

Ok I'm here trying to keep my word on finishing this story. Flames are welcome, but please let it actually concern the story, rather than the manga, show, or any other fanfic you've read before. It's my frickin story. So if I randomly wanted Hiei singing country in a bunny suit wrestling a walrus, I could do that. Ok on with the story.

Oh yeah forgot to say this earlier. I DO NOT own Yu Yu Hakusho, or any of the characters…yet.

Ch. 2

There's charm, then there's Yusuke

Yuki and Ami set their belongings down by Keiko. Keiko had no problem with Ami, but Yuki gossiped too much, and always tried to outdo others. Botan had just entered the house when Keiko dragged her over to where the chattering girls were. They laid down on their cots before talking in hushed voices.

"I can't believe something like this actually happened in our village? It's like something out of the movies!" exclaimed Yuki.

Keiko groaned. Yuki gave a quick glare before returning to her conversation.

"That Hiei guy was scary, but he was fast! It's a good thing he didn't fight Kuwabara for real. We would have been goners if he'd taken Kuwabara seriously." Ami agreed.

"Whatever about that short guy, did you see his friend? He was so cute, even if he was a demon."

Keiko looked at Yuki like she'd grown a second head.

"Are you serious? That guy wants us all dead, and you think he's cute?"

Yuki fluttered her eyes dramatically. "He's the ultimate bad boy."

A sweat drop appeared on the three other girls. Botan was the first to recover.

"He couldn't be all bad, though. He didn't kill Sanosuke. I wonder how Sanosuke even survived that fire. His clothes looked a little burnt, but not his skin."

Keiko still had her doubts. True, the demons hadn't really caused as much damage as they could have done, but they were coming back.

"What if that Yusuke guy is only using Sanosuke as a link to our village?" Keiko argued.

"Why would he? If he wanted to, he could easily take us out. I don't know. That Yusuke is just a mystery. Even his appearance seems weird. He really looked human to me." Botan said.

Keiko thought about the demon boy. Now that she thought about it, he really didn't look like traditional demons. He had jet black hair, slicked back, and big chocolate brown eyes. When he was talking to Sanosuke they looked so innocent, childlike. But it seemed that's where the child ended. He was tall, much taller than Hiei. He didn't have a bulky body, but a lot of muscle. And his power was unimaginable. He broke Kenjiro's rib by throwing a rock that could fit in his hand! There was no way Keiko could left down her guard with Yusuke running around freely. Not matter how cute he was. Keiko gasped softly. _'Did I just think that?'_ Keiko blushed lightly.

"What is it, Keiko?" Ami asked.

"No-nothing," Keiko stammered, "I'm still shaky from all that's happened. I think I'll just go to bed."

Keiko turned over in her bed. She blocked out all Yuki's fantasies about Yusuke, and drifted off to sleep.

Keiko rose early in the morning. Her throat was so dry, it was almost unbearable. Keiko raked her fingers through her short brown hair, and slipped her robe over her nightgown.

"Botan. Botan…wake up." Keiko shook her gently. "Come with me to get something to drink, please. I don't think it's safe to go alone."

Botan rubbed her eyes. "Ugh, Keiko, you better be glad we're best friends."

Botan rolled out the bed. The girls put on their shoes and headed for the river that cut through their village. The sun's rays shone brightly on the water. Keiko smiled softly. Everything was so tranquil. Keiko listened at the bird's singing. Among their chirps, the girls heard a familiar sound.

"Puu."

Botan was the first to see the strange beast at the river with Sanosuke. Keiko watched with interest. Sanosuke was trying to catch a couple fish to eat while Pu gathered twigs and dry leaves for a fire. Long after Pu came back, Sanosuke still hadn't caught a single fish. Pu hovered over the river before diving in. After a few seconds Pu came bursting out with three fish, one in his mouth, and two in his claws. Pu dropped the fish in Sanosuke hands, and started up a fire.

"What a strange little thing," commented Botan.

Keiko walked up next to Sanosuke. He glared for a moment, moving his precious fish away from her. He roasted them on a few discarded sticks. Keiko gave him a small smile before taking a couple sips of water.

"Good morning, Sanosuke. Why are you up so early?" Keiko asked after finishing her drink.

"I'm eating all the fish I can so I won't be hungry when Yusuke comes to get me. I don't want to slow him down." said Sanosuke chomping down on his fish.

"Why would you want to travel with demons? Don't you see what they do to us?"

Sanosuke looked down and was silent for a moment. "Everyone left me. I was sleeping when the sirens started. When I woke up, everybody was gone. I tried to find someone when I saw Pu flying. I got scared so I ran away from the center of village, but I wasn't fast enough. I saw the fire all around me, and I knew no one was coming to help me. Nobody even noticed I was gone."

Keiko felt terrible. It was true. Botan listened, confused. "But why stay with Yusuke?"

"Well," Sanosuke continued, "Yusuke saved me. I couldn't escape where the fire had spread. I kept screaming, but soon the smoke got too thick, and I started coughing. My clothes got burned, but before I burned up, Yusuke came. His finger started glowing greenish-blue and he blasted the fire away from me. Then he checked to see if I had any burns, picked me up, and brought me back to the elders. He didn't know I was an orphan. He thought someone was looking for me."

"Wow," sighed Keiko after a few moments of silence.

"Wow, indeed. I didn't know you had such a kind heart." said a soft, but firm voice.

"I don't. This kid's just…different to me." countered a louder, brash voice.

Keiko visibly stiffened at his voice. Botan turned around to see Yusuke standing behind them with a red head. He didn't look threatening, but he had to be strong under his gentle exterior. Especially if Yusuke was with him. A wide grin appeared on Sanosuke's face as he scrambled to Yusuke's side.

"Hey, you two aren't very friendly," said Yusuke. "Didn't even say hi to us or introduce yourselves."

He turned to Sanosuke. "Go grab the rest of your stuff. We're leaving soon." Sanosuke scampered off while Pu behind him.

"Sorry. I didn't know we had to be hospitable to the guy who burned most of our village, and injured one of our elders!" raged Botan

Yusuke scowled. "That bastard better be lucky I didn't end that pathetic life of his."

"And where is that other demon that was with you?" continued Botan, ignoring Yusuke's comment. "Why are you here?"

"Please excuse my friend's behavior. He can be rather discourteous at times. My name is Kurama. What is yours, if I may be so bold?"

"It's Botan."

"Well Botan," Kurama lingered a moment on her name. "After causing so much havoc, it seemed for the best that Hiei stayed away. Yusuke came, of course, for his spirit beast and the child. I came to ensure that no further violence ensued."

Botan hadn't expected Kurama to be so charming, and eloquent. If he fought as well as he spoke, he was definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Yusuke had listened to their conversation for a moment, but his eyes became focused on the girl who had yet to turn around to see them.

"What's with your friend? Is she too disgusted to look at us or something?"

In the time it took for Keiko to blink, Yusuke was a foot away her face. Yusuke's dark brown eyes connected with Keiko's lighter brown eyes. _'He's so close; he's too close.'_ Keiko's cheeks flared up as a light blush appeared_. 'Why won't he move? Someone make him stop staring at me like that.' _Yusuke saw her blush and smirked.

"What's your name?" Yusuke asked.

"Ke- Ke- Keiko." Keiko voice was almost inaudible.

"How old are you?" inquired Yusuke, standing up.

"17," answered Keiko mirroring his actions.

It wasn't until Keiko stood up that Yusuke noticed how curvy Keiko was, and how short her nightgown really was. A variety of thoughts went through his mind as a wicked smile came across his face. Keiko turned to tell Botan that they ought to be getting back to their raid group when she felt a hand reach under her nightgown and rub her butt.

" Nice ass, Keiko," said Yusuke.

SLAP! Keiko slapped Yusuke before he could react. Yusuke staggered back a bit, holding his red cheek. He was laughing a bit. Keiko pulled her nightgown down lower, and walked away.

"You know if you didn't want a guy to notice, why would you wander around the woods in next to nothing anyway?" Yusuke whined still rubbing his cheeks.

Keiko ignored him. "I'm sorry, ok?"

Keiko looked back at Yusuke. She was clearly embarrassed. 'I don't why; it's not like she doesn't have a nice body.' Yusuke thought.

Yusuke stood up, and walked steadily to Keiko. Yusuke looked down at Keiko and stared into her eyes.

"Wow," he breathed.

Keiko was already the color of a tomato from all the attention she had already received from the little pervert.

Yusuke's eyes traveled down. "The lower you keep pulling that nightgown, the better it makes your tits look," he "observed".

That comment got Yusuke another hard slap, so hard he made a dent in the ground when he hit it.

"You don't even act like a real demon. You're nothing but a pervert!" shrieked Keiko.

She ran off. Botan followed behind, leaving Kurama laughing at his friend's expense.

"That jerk with his vulgar humor. He didn't pick on _you_," fumed Keiko.

"I don't think he likes me as much as he likes you," smiled Botan.

Keiko was silent, but the small blush crept up her face said what she was thinking. Keiko had never really been anything special to any guy in their village. In a weird way, Keiko was kind of flattered to get the attention. 'Yusuke…'

"Yusuke, what came over you?"

Yusuke had wondering the same thing. "I just wanted to have some fun with her. Why? Did I ruin your moment with Botan chick?"

Kurama sighed, "Yusuke, just think about your actions. If you're going to reign one day, you'll have to be less childish."

"And if we're going to be friends, you'll going to have to get the stick out your ass, and have some fun." Yusuke retorted.

There was a silence that lingered in the air before Kurama spoke up again.

"It's by the King's orders that we kill everyone associated with the Council. This whole village is involved whether directly or indirectly. Those girls-"

Yusuke cut him off. "Raizen said every suspect we find. As far as I'm concerned if we take the elders out, we can avoid an uprising."

"Then why didn't you take Kenjiro out when you had the chance?"

"Too many people. Raizen wanted it done without human bloodshed, which is why it wasn't a good idea to send Hiei, and not you to do the job in the first place," thought Yusuke.

Kurama nodded, "We should get Sanosuke now."

"Right. We need to have him far away by tonight."

Yusuke gave a bitter smile. If they didn't play their cards right, an all-out war would begin.

It's 2 a.m. right now, but I knew I'd forget everything if I didn't write all this. Did I portray everyone's feelings well enough? I tell if I should add something. I hope this was both insightful, and entertaining. I tried to clear things up a bit and make it at least a little suspenseful. I probably should have had Botan and Kurama, but this story isn't mainly about them so just know they'll like each other by the end. Please REVIEW! It's the only way I know if you even like the direction the story's going. Next Chapter: Exiled. I think that basically speaks for itself.


	3. Chapter 3: Exiled? Not really

Hey you guys. It's been a while but after funerals, trips, school and work, I just didn't feel like writing, but now I'm back after a long wait. I get pretty bored with just one story so when you review, please tell me another idea for a Yusuke/Keiko fic.

Ch. 3

Exiled? Not really…

Keiko had gone through the whole day waiting for Yusuke. She watched Sanosuke and followed him everywhere he went, trying to catch him before he left with those demons. She had a sneaking suspicion that Yuki was following her.

"That girl is so annoying," mumbled Keiko. She thought back to earlier that morning.

(Flashback)

Keiko and Botan had snuck back to their cabin only to see Yuki glaring at them.

"Where were you two? Did you sneak out after we went to sleep?"

Keiko rolled her eyes. "We didn't sneak out. We just got up earlier than everyone else."

"Who gets up, and wanders around in their nightgowns after an extremely hot ,but dangerous demon is somewhere walking around. I wouldn't, especially in those skimpy things." said Yuki, pointing to Keiko gown.

Keiko glared, and walked past her. Botan spoke for her. "Please, Keiko wouldn't want to see that pervert again, anywhere."

Ami looked at Keiko strangely. "Perverted? How do you know he's a pervert? You didn't talk to him, did you? Oh my god, did you see him? Did he try to rape you? I bet he did! We have to tell the elders before he comes back!"

By this time Ami was frantic, stumbling over her own feet, trying to grab Keiko.

"Calm down, Ami. He didn't try anything with me. Okay? Just calm down." Keiko assured her.

Ami wasn't buying it so Botan told her what happened. "…so Yusuke rubbed her butt, Keiko slapped him, and we left."

Ami looked horrified at the fact that Botan talked so nonchalantly about a demon sexually molesting her best friend.

Yuki pouted, "I wish that was me. I wouldn't have slapped him. How did it feel, Keiko? Was his hands rough, or really soft, and did he just rub your butt or did he kinda pinch it a little."

All the girls just looked at Yuki. Keiko's eyes twitched, 'What's wrong with this girl? She's so weird!'

(End flashback)

Keiko shook her head. At that moment she heard a scream. Keiko ran outside to see the entire village in a large circle. Keiko pushed through the crowd to see what all the commotion was. Botan ran up behind her. In the center was Sanosuke, bruised and bleeding. A few men of the village had been beating him by the orders of Kaemon.

"This boy is a traitor to the village," Kaemon explained to the crowd. "It is because of him the demons came to our peaceful village. He must be properly punished for his treachery."

The men had begun kicking Sanosuke anywhere there was an opening. They kicked him mostly in the stomach, but a few times Sanosuke was kicked in the head as well. Keiko ran and pushed a man away from him. She couldn't stand the sadistic pleasure beating a child was giving them. Botan pushed down the man before he could grab Keiko. Keiko huddled over Sanosuke, trying to angle his head so he didn't bleed so much.

"Get out of the way, girl. Are you siding with a traitor? Do you want us all to die?" one man screamed.

"He's just a little boy! He's done nothing wrong!" pleaded Botan to the crowd.

A burly man kicked Botan out the way. Botan fell next to Sanosuke, who was fading in and out of consciousness. Keiko looked at Botan and then her attacker. She stood straight, trying to intimidate him.

"You have no right to do this. How dare you? Sanosuke only came back to collect his stuff! Do you really think one child endangers the whole village?" added Keiko.

"Sanosuke has been telling lies to the demons about us! He should have left earlier when he had the chance to do so." said Kaemon.

"He was going to leave as soon as he got his stuff." Keiko countered.

"That little bastard his no stuff. Everything he had the elders gave to him. And this is how he repays our great generosity? Having demons burn down our homes! Wounding the other elders! " snarled Kaemon.

"None of this is his fault, Kaemon. Yusuke was right. You people are despicable, especially you," yelled Keiko pointing at Kaemon.

Keiko's words earned her a slap as one man struck her in the face. Tears welled up as a bruise formed on Keiko's cheek.

"Ok, I know we aren't supposed to speak out against the elders, but these men are beating up girls. That's shameless!" said Kuwabara, reasoning with the crowd. "I think the kid's been through enough too."

Keiko sighed. Finally someone was taking up for them. Kaemon looked beyond angry.

"Decades now, I've watched over this village with Kenjiro, and none have questioned our wisdom. Now that this village has met its first crisis in years, every child thinks they know more than I do. It was I who protected this village from evil."

Kaemon's eyes shifted to Kuwabara. "And do not forget, Kuwabara, it was I who trained you."

Kuwabara stood silent. Keiko looked around at the crowd's faces, looking for any sympathy. Amongst the other villagers, she saw her parents. Her mother looked scared for her, but her father's face was that of annoyance and a little fear of his own.

"Yusuke…Yusuke." Sanosuke was moving, and calling out for Yusuke in a small voice. Sanosuke rolled a bit, and pulled Pu from his small body.

"Pu, go find Yusuke," Sanosuke said shakily.

Pu lifted up only to hover over the little boy. Pu began to glow, engulfing Sanosuke in its light.

"Look damnit. The boy is calling for another attack. Kill him before the demons get here!" Kaemon exclaimed.

Botan stood up, and balled up her fists at the oncoming men. She knew she wasn't very strong, but she was ready for a fight.

Kuwabara never remembered his master being so deranged. Of course nothing like this had ever happened before. Sure, a few demons had come, attempting to take over, but Kuwabara always sent them packing. _'What is it about this Yusuke demon that Kaemon would kill a child to avoid seeing him.'_ pondered Kuwabara. _'I don't see why everyone's going crazy over a guy that we haven't even seen fight once. I don't think he's as strong as everyone thinks. He probably isn't even a demon. Just some human that thinks he's too good for the rest of us.'_

Kaemon was hysterical as he saw the three figures over the horizon. Pu flew to his master leading the others.

"I-I won't have you endanger us anymore," Kaemon stammered. "You four are exiled. Banished from this place and anyone who even attempts to befriend them will be executed without question."

Keiko's eyes widened. "All because we tried to help?"

"You don't know your place. Children are meant to be seen, not heard. Now leave quickly."

However it was too late. Standing before them was Yusuke, but his eyes weren't the people. His eyes were on Sanosuke. Sanosuke could barely move, but made an effort when he saw Yusuke.

"Stay down you little shit," shouted one man. He had been one of the men kicking Sanosuke, and he raised his fist to hit him. Before his head rose all the way up, Yusuke had already caught his fist with his hand. Yusuke's eyes were now boring holes into Kaemon, even as he continued to crush the other man's hand.

"Please! Have mercy!" the man mustered out.

For the first time Yusuke looked at the man and gave a sadistic smirk.

"Fool, I WAS showing mercy." His grip tightened. "Now, not so much."

Yusuke held his pointer finger against the man's stomach even as he squirmed. He then pulled the man's ear close to her lips and whispered, "Spirit Gun."

The energy that came from Yusuke was enormous, and the roar of the blast is deafening. The hole made in that man's body was the size of his head. The hole actually showed where Yusuke had blown away parts of his ribs and tissue. The man gurgled a bit of blood before his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

"Hn. You were showing mercy on that too, Yusuke. His death would have been much slower and bloodier if I would have killed him," Hiei commented.

Everyone was terrified, but Kaemon looked as if he was going to have a heart attack. Keiko shielded Sanosuke's eyes from the sight. Sanosuke wiggled from her grip, and clung to Yusuke's leg shaking. Yusuke kneeled down, looking like he was consoling Sanosuke, but instead he whispered a warning.

"Get your family and friends, and get out of here. If you don't, you will die… thanks for helping Sanosuke. Think of this as a gift."

For a moment their eyes met. To Keiko, Yusuke almost looked desperate to save her. Any kindness in his eyes was replaced by a smirk as he stood up again. Yusuke picked up Sanosuke, and walked back to his group. They talked quietly to each other, Yusuke gave Sanosuke to Kurama, and walked away.

The crowd was astonished that only one man died after three demons came to their village. Kaemon ordered each one to their own home, reassuring the others that since Sanosuke was gone, the demons shouldn't be returning.

When the trio left, Keiko told Botan Yusuke's warning.

"We have to save the village. I don't know what those guys are going to do, but we obviously need to leave," said Botan.

"Yes, we have to get my parents and Kuwabara, and warn everyone quickly," agreed Keiko.

The pair stood up and spilt. Botan retrieved Kuwabara while Keiko persuaded her parents to leave. They gathered their few belongings: a couple of clothes, a pair of shoes, and some food. Botan grabbed her family's heirloom, an oar. When everyone had gotten their necessities, Keiko snuck them out. A mile or so away from the village, the group came to an opening and saw Hiei.

"Hey shrimp, we have a score to settle," said Kuwabara.

Hiei ignored him, looking at every other human before turning his attention to Keiko.

"Is this who you chose?" he asked.

"No. Not everyone in the village was warned. Keiko just wanted to get her parents out safely," told Kuwabara.

Hiei smirked and gave a signal.

"SPIRIT GUN!"

Yusuke was standing on a phoenix-like Pu. His spirit blast was like a comet hitting.

"No, I said everyone wasn't out yet!" screamed Kuwabara.

Yusuke jumped from Pu's back, and Pu transformed back into his smaller, cuter version. Mr. Yukimura stared in shock. Their village was nothing more than ashes now.

"Monster," he breathed out.

Yusuke landed right in front of Keiko. Mr. Yukimura pushed Keiko behind him. He was visibly shaking, but he held his ground. Yusuke looked confused.

"What? What did I do wrong?"

"Yusuke," Keiko blurted out, "how could you? You killed all those innocent people."

"Yeah, but I saved you didn't I? You got everyone you wanted out, didn't you?" asked Yusuke nonchalantly. "Anyway you can travel with us to the next village or build you village from scratch."

"You mean the ashes of the dead villagers." Hiei corrected him.

Botan was fighting back tears. 'How could one guy have so much power?'

Yusuke looked over at her. "What are you crying about? You gave me the ok."

"We told that shrimp there were still people to save. He ignored us!" yelled Kuwabara.

"If they really wanted to save all those people, they would have led everyone out at the same time. Besides, what is the point of destroying the village if everyone was going to live?" Hiei smirked at the thought.

Keiko pushed away from her father to hit Yusuke. Tears were flowing from her eyes. "You killed them. You monster, I hate you!"

The hits didn't hurt Yusuke at all, but he hated the feeling of guilt that Keiko was starting to give him. However, he couldn't do a thing about it. Sanosuke wobbled over to him. Yusuke's face turned hard when he saw Sanosuke's condition. Sanosuke's face was scratched and bloody with knots on his head. He was sniffling, but trying his best to look strong.

"I'm the monster, huh? If I am, then what the hell are you then? You can take that self-righteous attitude and shove it up your ass because you're just as much as a hypocrite as all those other villagers."

Yusuke picked up Sanosuke, and turned to Kurama. "Heal him tonight, and tomorrow in the morning, we'll leave. By the way, humans, if you decide to follow us, be ready at dawn."

The group was silent. Keiko refused to look at Yusuke. Botan cleared her throat.

"We really have no choice but to go with them. I mean, we have no place else to go."

Keiko turned away from Botan. She knew they didn't have a choice, but she wanted to pretend they did. She wanted to do anything to avoid spending more time with Yusuke. It seemed though, the only way to rid herself of him was to let him escort her to the next village. The thought left a bad taste in her mouth. Mr. Yukimura scowled and sat on the ground.

"Well Keiko, are you going to stand there all night? You held how early we have to get up tomorrow. The sooner we're up, the sooner we can get to the next village."

Keiko sighed, and tried to rest on a rock. It was jagged, and even after laying all her clothes on it as a pillow, it still proved to be a poor sleeping arrangement. Keiko looked at Sanosuke, who was cuddled up in Yusuke's robe, and being treated by Kurama. She'd never seen him so peaceful. It was all too confusing. _'Why is all of this happening? I don't understand,'_ wondered Keiko.

If she ever had a cordial conversation with any of the demons, she would definitely demand some answers. Now, though, being bossy would only result in her death. _'All my questions will have to wait until morning. Maybe then things will be more clear.'_

Woot! After nearly a year, I'm back to this story! I'm sure no one really knows what the heck is going on, but stay with me and it'll all be explained. Right now I'm debating whether or not to include Yukina for poor Kuwabara. Should I? Anyway, I just needed to get them out the village to really get the story going, so if you thought it was boring, just hold tight. Tell me what you think so far. I'm already typing the next chapter so it won't be long before chapter four is up.


	4. Chapter 4: Insights and Festivals

**Okay I seriously didn't mean for it to take so long, but I couldn't find my original work and I'd actually forgotten the idea I had for this chapter. I was seriously thinking of quitting until I got a review a couple days ago. Suddenly it just gave the inspiration I needed. Anyway, I'll be updating more frequently but keep up the reviews to keep me motivated lol.**

**Chapter Four**

**Insights and Festivals**

"Hey, what did I say earlier? Get up or we're leaving you." Yusuke sounded rough, but his movements contradicted him as he shook Keiko gently. Keiko rolled over.

"Keiko, he said quieter, "you wouldn't want me to grab your ass in front of your parents would you?"

"No, Yusuke!" the demand came out as more of a whine.

"Then get up."

Keiko sighed, but rose to her feet and woke up Botan. Everyone else was already up. The group began walking. The moon was still out, and the birds hadn't awakened yet. The ground was rough, making Keiko curse the fact she wore sandals. She looked at her other pair of shoes, slippers. Why didn't she grab her sneakers or something? Of course how did she know her town was going to be blown up?

After about an hour or so of silence, Yusuke spoke up. "In a few hours, we'll stop at a village for some supplies. If you need anything, get it there."

"Father, could I get some more shoes there? These really aren't for walking." Keiko said.

"Keiko, we have to completely restart our life and now's hardly the time to think about your dainty feet! Besides walking will be the first hard thing you've done in your life. Do you know how much I've spoiled you? Do you know how much money I've wasted on you? You little ungrateful-"

"That's enough, Hiroshi! Keiko isn't to blame for any of this. Please just stop." Akemi, Keiko's mom cried.

Yusuke turned back. Keiko hadn't said anything. She walked at her steady pace just staring at the ground. Botan did the same. Obviously these outbursts were a normal occurrence.

"Hey!" Kuwabara cried suddenly. "I just realized. We've been walking with you guys all this time and we don't know anything about you! What if you're trying to trap us somehow to get information about our village!"

Kurama looked back. "You actually believe that we separated you from your village, took you miles away, just to interrogate you?"

Kuwabara was slightly embarrassed. 'Well when you say it like that', he thought.

Hiroshi pointed at Yusuke. "Well, did you demon?"

"Why the hell are you picking a fight with me old man?" Yusuke retorted.

"I think you thugs have had your eyes on my daughter and her friends for a while now. You're trying to use them for something. Your kind trains themselves to kill people like us for no reason so why wouldn't I think something was wrong."

Hiei chimed in. "I get it now. The old man just has a death wish. Let me be the one to end his obsessive talking. I want to kill him too," he added, pointing at Kuwabara.

"Me! What did I do?"

"Your face hurts my eyes. To end such a grotesque being would make me a saint."

Sanosuke, who had for the most part ignored everyone, finally spoke. "Yusuke, I think we're here. Is that the village?"

Everyone stopped their bickering and looked. In the distance there was the bright glow of lanterns contrasting with the dark morning.

"Is that it? If it is, you can leave us in this village and be on your way," Hiroshi concluded.

Hiei smirked. "You must have a death wish to want to be left here. This is one of the few villages where demons and humans co-exist. They don't take well to outsiders with attitudes either."

"Then why would you bring us here?" Botan asked.

"We had previous matters to attend to as well as some information to gather." Kurama responded. "It's actually quite a good time for you all to be here. It would seem that the village is holding a celebration of some kind."

Yusuke agreed. "Yeah, it's the annual Festival of Souls."

Sanosuke looked at him questioningly. "What's that? They never had that in our village."

"Long ago, a great demon king fell in love with a human physician. The demon had a child with her, but didn't know it. He'd left to fight a war. She died when the child was six, and the kid was exiled for being half demon. The demon king came back to find his mate dead, and him with a son to raise. Knowing his son would never survive being raised by just humans or demons, he made a village of both, and they raised his child when he was away."

"But why is it called, the 'Festival of Souls'." Sanosuke wondered.

"The king called it that. He knew he could never be with the woman he loved in life, but he hoped their souls would unite in the afterlife. The festival's basically all about love and cherishing and protecting. Stuff like that."

Keiko smiled. "That actually sounds pretty romantic. That demon sounds really sweet."

Hiei chuckled. "Hn, if you knew him you wouldn't so, would she Yusuke?"

Yusuke laughed. "Hell no!"

The group arrived at the village just as the sun began to rise. The shops were opening up and the chatter of people was getting louder.

Yusuke handed Pu over to Sanosuke. "Get whatever you want. Just make sure you can carry it on a trip. Go with Keiko and Botan though." He turned to Keiko. "Watch over him."

"Wait! Where are you going? This festival's about protecting people, and you're not even gonna be around!" Sanosuke pouted.

"I'll be back in a couple hours so just have fun, ok?"

With that Yusuke, Hiei, and Kurama took off. Kuwabara looked around nervously. "What is it, Kuwabara?" Botan asked.

"I can feel so much demonic energy here; more than I've felt in my life. If everyone's so hostile here, why would they ditch us with a kid?"

"Yusuke didn't ditch me. I know because he left Pu here."

Keiko smiled and took Sanosuke by the hand. "Come on, Sanosuke let's see what's around here."

"What! Have you lost your mind?" Hiroshi fumed.

"Don't worry. We'll be fine. Kuwabara, stay with my parents, ok?"

Sanosuke, Keiko, and Botan went off to the different shops. Sanosuke went to a vendor selling toys. He looked around and picked up a few things: a ball, a spinning top, some books, and some colored pencils. "I want these."

The man held out his hand. "That'll be 1,683 yen." (That's around twenty dollars.)

"Oh, I don't have that."

The man scoffed. "Then leave kid."

Pu rose to eye level with the vendor. "Pu." The vendor looked confused. "Is that Yusuke's spirit beast? You're with Yusuke?"

Sanosuke nodded shyly. The vendor laughed. "Oh, you should have said something earlier. This whole celebration is for him and his mother." The vendor began packing Sanosuke's toys.

Sanosuke smiled and gave a thank you before walking back to Keiko.

"Did Yusuke give you money?" Keiko asked.

"No, the vendor gave all this stuff to me for free because he said the festival was for Yusuke," answered Sanosuke, bouncing his ball.

'The festival's for Yusuke? Does that mean he was the boy in the story?' thought Keiko.

Yusuke sighed. He hoped things would have gone more smoothly at the last village, but he'd lost his cool.

"What will you tell Raizen when you meet him, Yusuke?" inquired Kurama.

"Whatever comes to my head. He's already pissed at me anyway. All he does is complain about how I put him to shame." Yusuke chuckled. "I bet he's throwing the biggest fit right now."

Yusuke looked around until he spotted a familiar bar. "Ah, he's probably in there, let's go. By the way, where did Hiei runoff to"?

"He said something about seeing Yukina."

"Oh well. That's cool. We should be done here pretty quickly anyway."

The two walked in the bar and scouted two tall figures. One was sporting a Mohawk with a silly grin on his face while the other had wild red hair and an even sillier grin.

"Chu? Jin? How's it going? It's been a couple of months since I've seen you, and when I find you, Chu is plastered already. Big surprise."

"Shut up, Yusuke. You know I'm only sober when I'm drunk!" Chu screamed laughing.

Kurama sweatdropped. 'To think he's one of the strongest fighters in the world.'

Jin practically jumped from his chair at the bar and lifted up Yusuke. "Yusuke! Have you come back or are you still trying to avoid being king?" Jin set him down.

"I'm not avoiding it. My father is king now and that's how it's gonna be for a while. I'm doing some detective work on the elders."

Chu swayed over to the group. "What about them? Have you gotten any leads?"

Kurama shook his head. "No, we know that there have been some humans that have been working with demons to overthrow Raizen. The thought of humans and demons co-existing has been labeled taboo to them. However, the last village we went to didn't show any signs of treason."

"No, they were unrelated from what Hiei could find, but they treated their own kind like shit. Especially that Kaemon guy" commented Yusuke, his eyes narrowing.

"So what happened with that village?" asked Jin.

"Destroyed, but never mind that. What information have you found?" answered Yusuke.

Chu scratched his head before simply shrugging his shoulders. "We're just like you. We thought we found a couple leads in these little remote places, but it never seemed to go anywhere. The whole thing sounds more like some crackpot theory even though we have a little evidence."

Yusuke sighed. After all of that, there were no answers. There was nothing to show for all their searching. "Okay, well I guess I'll be going back to dear old Dad with nothing. I'm sure he'll like that."

Jin patted him on the back. "Ah, listen. We know something's going on; we just don't know what, when, who, and how. They're gonna make a move though, and that's when we're crush 'em."

Yusuke smiled. "Yeah. Well, I go enjoy the festival, and stop by again soon. Until then, lay off the booze, Chu!"

They laughed and parted ways. They were in the center of the village when Yusuke heard Pu.

"Give it back, Pu! I'm serious!" Yusuke looked to see Pu and Sanosuke fighting over some dumplings on a stick. Yusuke walked over to them. Sanosuke saw Yusuke and pointed to Pu.

"He won't give back my food." Yusuke shook his head. "Don't worry about it; we'll go get something else to eat. Where are the girls?"

Sanosuke motioned to a kimono shop. Yusuke and Kurama walked toward them.

"Keiko," Botan giggled, "come on out. I'm sure you look fine." Botan was wearing a lavender kimono with a magenta bow and ribbon in her hair.

"Playing dress up, are we?" Kurama asked, smiling. Botan shrieked. The boys laughed. Keiko peeked out the changing room. "Oh, I didn't know everyone was out here."

Botan glared at the boys. "Neither did I."

Keiko stepped out wearing a beautiful navy kimono with light purple and white flowers and a big yellow bow.

"Oh wow Keiko that kimono was made for you!" Botan exclaimed.

Keiko laughed. "Not at this price! It's over 16,000 yen, my dad would kill me. I do love it though." Keiko giggled and spun around in it. Botan joined her, laughing until they were both in a giddy fit.

"Hey, if you aren't gonna buy it, get out of those clothes so we can go eat," stated Yusuke.

Keiko stuck her tongue out, and she and Botan changed. Yusuke smiled and pulled out around 17,000 yen and gave it to the ogre selling them.

"Hey when those two girls come out, wrap up the blue kimono, will ya? You can keep the change."

The ogre thanked him graciously. Kurama pulled out some yen as well. "Could you do the same with the lavender kimono, thanks."

Yusuke smirked, "Can't think of your own gift, Kurama?"

Kurama smiled back. "You, know Yusuke, imitation is the highest form of flattery."

Keiko and Botan walked out. "What are you guys talking about?"Keiko asked.

"Nothing, where's your parents, and that one guy, Kuwabaka?" asked Yusuke to Keiko.

"It's Kuwabara, and they're still at the entrance of the town. My father didn't trust this place much." She answered sheepishly.

"Ok, well let's get them and go eat."

After meeting up with everyone, they went to Yusuke's favorite ramen shop. They, well Yusuke, was greeted by the head waitress.

"Hi, there sir," said a busty demon waitress to Yusuke. "If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to ask." She rubbed her cleavage not so subtlety against him.

Yusuke wrapped his arm around Keiko. "I'm fine thanks. What about you, babe?"

Keiko was blushing madly now, but shyly said, "I'm fine."

The waitress looked at the two before pouting and walking away. She then turned to Kurama. "Well, if you need anything-"

"Kuwabara, do you need anything?" asked Kurama winking.

Kuwabara was drooling over the waitress. "Uh, yeah I need a lot of things, like…chopsticks! I'll need a ton of chopsticks and-"

"Sorry, I'm on my break now." The waitress left promptly, but not before waving at Yusuke.

"Slut." Yusuke murmured disgusted.

Botan looked at him. "I would think you liked those type of girls."

"Yusuke shook his head. "If they're flirting like that with me they're doing the same thing to someone else. I mean obviously. She went right to Kurama after me. Beside I don't like girls that hit on me. I want to always be the one on top." He said winking.

"Uh, Yusuke? Your arm is still around me."

Yusuke smirked. "Yeah, I know."

Keiko squirmed in his grasp. Yusuke finally let go after some colorful words from her father.

The group sat to eat when Kuwabara noticed someone missing. "Hey, where's that spiky haired shrimp?"

Kurama took a sip of water before saying, "He had business to take care of so we probably won't see him the rest of the night."

The dinner was uneventful. Botan and Keiko talked about all the shops they'd gone too, and Sanosuke showed the training clothes and the toys he'd gotten.

"Well, Yusuke said, "All you're need is a weapon, and you're be one of us."

Sanosuke beamed. Hiroshi scoffed. "You say that like it's actually a good thing to be a demon. You're getting the kid's hope up anyway. Humans could never be as strong as demons."

Kurama and Yusuke exchanged a glanced. "With all due respect sir, I know of couple people with human blood that have far surpassed most demons."

The conversation was cut short to the sound of fireworks. The group walked outside to see brilliant colors spark the sky.

"Oh wow!" exclaimed Sanosuke. Yusuke smiled and lifted him up on his shoulders.

Keiko watched them, and smiled. 'He really can be sweet.'

Yusuke turned and saw her staring. He smirked. "What, you like what you see?"

"Oh, shut up. I was admiring the fireworks."

"This is only the first of two nights of this. Tomorrow will be even greater." Kurama stated. "Tomorrow is also the time that the men give presents to the women and children that mean something to them. Everyone meets in the center of the village, and exchanges gifts."

"Does everyone go?" asked Botan. "I mean what if you don't have anyone special in your life? What if you know you won't get anything?"

Kurama gave a knowing smile. "You can't be sure of the future until it's become the past. Most girls think they won't receive anything, but they are highly mistaken. Everyone cares for someone, and the festival of Soul is an ideal time to show that."

Yusuke yawned. "Yeah, whatever. Anyway, I'm beat and the fireworks are over so I say we rent a room and sleep for the night."

"I agree with Yusuke." Kuwabara said. "I have to be in top shape for when I meet the love of my life!"

"Yeah, well I'm sure he wants to meet you too." Yusuke chuckled out.

"He? Hey, wait! I'm not gay!"

The group laughed and walked away, leaving Kuwabara behind to grumble to himself.

After finding an inn, everyone retired to their rooms.

Botan shut the door to her and Keiko's room. "Okay, girl talk officially begins now!" she squealed out.

She jumped on Keiko's bed. "Ok, be honest, do you like Yusuke? Because I really think he likes you!"

Keiko hit her with a pillow. "No, he's not, and get off my bed!"

Botan just giggled. "Seriously, he likes you, and I know you like him too so just admit it."

"I think he's kinda cute I guess, but it's not like I'm in love or anything."

"So you admit he's cute?"

"I said kinda," Keiko defended.

"Well, I kinda like Kurama." Botan said this quieter.

"I knew it! Everything you guys talk, you get all shy. I bet he thinks it's cute though," Keiko reassured.

"I bet he just thinks I'm weird and dumb." Botan replied.

"No he doesn't. I bet he got you something for Festival of Souls too."

"If he actually got me something, then you definitely got something from Yusuke."

Keiko laid down, and turned to Botan, who had gone to her own bed.

"Hey, Sanosuke told me he heard that Yusuke was the reason for the Festival of Souls. He was the boy. Do you think that's true?"

Botan looked slightly shocked. "Well, if you think about it, it would explain his human appearance and demonic strength, but wow. Well, that's something to ask him about tomorrow."

"Yeah..."

Keiko listened to Botan's breath even out as she slipped into sleep.

She didn't want to tell Botan this, but her old life was already fading. She was used to shopping with Botan, and watching Sanosuke, and even being flirted with by Yusuke. She'd had more fun today than she'd had in a while. It was troubling why she didn't feel more grief over her village, but already it seemed like dream. Keiko sighed. She was adjusting nicely, but was still in the dark about so much. She'd wanted to ask Yusuke what was going on, but he was always with somebody or gone. 'Well,' she thought, 'if Yusuke likes me so much, he should want to spend some time with me alone. If I can get him alone, I'll get all my questions answered.' Tomorrow she would make him explain, and she wouldn't take no for an answer.

**Ok so I tried making it noticeably longer to make up for the wait so here you go! I found my muse again, I think I have a good direction for this story. Will update soon. At least once a month from now own because I have a new laptop! Anyway review, and tell me what you like so far!**


	5. Chapter 5 Waiting for answers

Oh yeah, I so stoked for this chapter. Oh yeah I'm feeling extra pumped because I actually met Chuck Huber (voice of Hiei) at an anime convention!

Disclaimer: I always forget about these. Anyway, I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

Chapter 5

Waiting for answers

There was a knock at the door, but neither Yusuke nor Kurama heard. There was a second knock a little louder, but the boys rolled over and went back to sleep.

"Wake up, damnit!"

"Oh God, he's back this early!" moaned Yusuke. Yusuke rolled over, nearly falling on top of Pu and Sanosuke, who had just woken up.

On the other side of the door was a very angry Hiei waiting. Yusuke creaked open the door and Hiei walked in with a glare. Behind him was Yukina.

"Yukina? Uh, hey. Long time no see, huh?" Yusuke commented.

Yukina bowed a little. "Yes, it has been a while."

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "I told you already. You don't have to bow or do anything formal with me. So what's up?"

"She wanted to go to the Festival of Souls ending celebration."

Kurama rose from his bed. "Well, then we should be going. I'll go wake everyone."

Kurama walked out. He left with a small smile. Yukina noticed and commented. "He seems happier than normal. Did it have something to do with the two girls that are traveling with you? Hiei told me they were brainwashing you guys though."

Yusuke glared at Hiei. "Oh, really? They're just two girls."

Hiei smirked. "Really? I didn't know you bought gifts for two ordinary girls." He eyed the two presents that were wrapped.

"Whatever, I still have more gifts to buy. It's the custom, you know."

Hiei scoffed. Kurama came back in, this time with company. Kuwabara came in with Keiko and Botan trailing behind, and finally Keiko's parents. Hiroshi was still tense, but not as much as before. Akemi seemed fine. She seemed tenser by Hiroshi than the demons.

Kurama cleared his throat. "Well, we'll be in town one more day so go enjoy yourselves. Don't go out the town borders though. Also don't forget about the Festival of Souls ending ceremony this evening."

Keiko's parents turned to get back to their room but Kuwabara blocked them.

"Kuwabara? Kuwabara, could you move?" asked Akemi.

Kuwabara didn't respond or move. His body was paralyzed, and his eyes were fixed on a beauty with aqua colored hair.

Yusuke chuckled, and whispered to Hiei. "Well, I wonder who he's going give a present to?"

"No fucking way in hell," muttered a testy Hiei.

Yusuke held up his hands, "Whoa, language mister."

Hiei grabbed Yukina's hand, "Let's go Yukina, you wanted to see the shops, right?"

Yukina waved goodbye to everyone as Hiei pushed pass everyone.

"Yukina…" breathed out Kuwabara dreamily. "I found the woman I love! I have to get her something!"

With that Kuwabara left, and Keiko's parents were finally able to go back to their room.

Keiko moved to Yusuke's side and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Um, hey, what are you doing today?" she asked.

Yusuke scratched his head. "Oh, you know. A little of this and that and stuff."

Keiko pouted. "Oh. I was just hoping we could hang out today."

"Uh, I really have a lot to do today. Maybe later though, okay?"

Yusuke turned to Kurama. "Hey, come on, will ya? You too, Sanosuke."

The three left and Yusuke closed the door, leaving a stunned Keiko and Botan.

"I can't believe he actually said no." said Keiko, showing a little more sadness than she meant to.

Botan noticed. "Well, he said he was busy, and he said maybe later."

"That means no."

"No. It means later. Come on. We'll just follow him, and 'happen' to see him at a shop."

Keiko nodded, but she was really kind of embarrassed. She's made an effort to spend time with Yusuke, and he had turned her down. It was true she wanted to get some answers out of him, but she also wanted to just talk. No secret motives or lies.

"Ok! Let's catch up with them before they leave then," exclaimed Botan.

Yusuke picked up a sling shot and handed it to Sanosuke. "How about this weapon to start you out with, Sanosuke?"

"A slingshot? No, I want something big and tough! That looks like it's for little kids." Sanosuke said.

Kurama chuckled. "I thought you were a little kid."

"Well, not one who fights with slingshots. What weapons do both of you use?" asked Sanosuke swinging an ax around. He lost his balance, almost cutting off the ox demon's head.

Yusuke grabbed his collar, took the ax, and placed it back on the table. "Well, fox boy over here uses plants, and I use these right here." Yusuke balled up his fists.

"Plants sound so girly though. No one picks on you for using flowers and stuff?" Sanosuke wondered.

"Well after they see him fight, very rarely are they alive, much less in the teasing mood."

"Oh, shut up Yusuke. I've only killed when it was necessary anyway."

Sanosuke grabbed Yusuke's index finger and inspected it. "I don't get it. How can you shoot out that kind of power and not have a mark on your finger?"

Yusuke laughed.

Sanosuke looked down with a blush. You didn't have to laugh. I just asked a question."

"Sorry. Well, the spirit gun is my pure energy. It's always inside of me and when I need it I just channel it out." Yusuke channeled a little energy, and the tip of his finger glowed blue.

"Are you a demon?" Sanosuke went on to ask. Kurama and Yusuke exchanged a puzzled look.

"Yeah, of course we are." Yusuke said.

"Then why is your spirit energy blue? I've seen other demons release those spirit blasts things, and their energy is always red or black or something really dark."

Yusuke looked at Sanosuke questioningly. He didn't know what age Sanosuke was, but these questions didn't seem like something a child would ask. All of his observations weren't things other children would notice either.

"I tell you more about that later, ok? Right now, let's go. I need to pick up some flowers."

"Wait! What about my weapon?"

Yusuke started to walk away and shrug. "I don't think any of those are good for you. We'll find something later."

Kurama began to walk in a different direction. "Well, Yusuke, we both have separate things to attend to so I find you right before the ceremony."

Yusuke waved and motioned for Sanosuke to follow him. Keiko and Botan had been looking for Yusuke for over thirty minutes when they saw Kurama speaking to an elder woman who was watering plants.

"Kurama! Over here!" Keiko shouted.

Kurama looked over and smiled. He walked over to the girls. "Hello Keiko. Botan. I trust you are enjoying yourselves."

Botan smiled and nodded. "We're fine, but Keiko was looking for Yusuke."

"Oh really?" was Kurama's amused answer.

"It's not like that, Kurama." Keiko protested.

"Whatever you say. Anyway he is at the flower shop. That's not too far from here."

Keiko smiled. "Ok. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Oh, Botan? Would you like to accompany me while Keiko speaks with Yusuke? I was just going to make sure everything runs smoothly tonight."

Botan's eyes lit up, and she turned to Keiko. "Will you be alright alone?"

Keiko smiled. "Yeah, sure. You should go."

Botan gave Keiko a reassuring smile before leaving with Kurama. Keiko could hear Kurama talking and Botan laughing. "Yeah, he actually wants to be around you." Keiko said softly. She made her way over to the flower shop. She saw Yusuke. He had a serious look on his face as he examined each type of flower.

"My, my, Yusuke. This is the first time you've gotten so many different types of flowers. I assume there's a girl in your life?" asked the florist smirking.

Yusuke laughed. "Well you can assume that, but you know what they say about assumptions."

Keiko walked up to him. "Hi, Yusuke."

Yusuke visibly stiffened for a moment before returning the hello. Keiko felt every bit of self-confidence in her disappear.

_'Think of something to talk about, Keiko! Come on! Say something clever or funny, just say something,'_ she thought.

"Uh, those flowers are really pretty. There's so many to choose from too."

"Uh, yeah. It's hard to choose." Yusuke said awkwardly.

Keiko fidgeted with her hair, brushing it. "My favorites are the cosmos here. Cosmos mean modesty or to be shy. I always thought it was funny though because they always came in such bright, bold colors. That doesn't seem like a shy or modest flower at all." Keiko chuckled a little at her sad joke and weak attempt to make conversation.

Yusuke didn't laugh. He glanced over at the flower indifferently. "Yeah, I see what you mean."

Keiko scuffled her feet and looked around for a bit. "Oh, where's Sanosuke?"

"I took him over to see a play with the other village kids. The play talks about why we have the Festival of Souls and the kids get to act out the parts. I thought he'd like it. Actually it's probably time to go him."

Yusuke picked up his flowers and paid the florist. He waved goodbye to Keiko and left.

"Wow, that Yusuke must really like someone. He left with three different flowers," the florist replied.

"Yeah…" Keiko said solemnly. She was so down about Yusuke ignoring her she didn't even notice her favorite cosmos were gone. Keiko arrived back at the inn around six in the evening. She walked to her room and before she could open the door, Botan swung it open and pulled her inside.

"So? Did you find him? What did you guys talk about?"

Keiko sighed. "He completely ignored me. I tried to talk to him, and he looked so bored when I spoke to him."

Botan frowned. "I don't know what's with him. Even Kurama said he thinks Yusuke likes you. He's never acted like this with any other girl."

"Well actions speak louder than words and his actions are saying he doesn't like me."

Botan walked up to Keiko and hugged her. Keiko smiled. Kuwabara burst in.

"Hey it's time for the ending ceremony. We're leaving!"

He pulled Keiko and Botan outside and met up with the others. Keiko looked over at Yusuke. He wasn't paying attention to her. Yusuke looked toward her and gave a very slight smile. Hiei had arrived back with Yukina and was watching out for any male that tried to give Yukina a gift.

Sanosuke pulled Yusuke's wrist. "We have to go; we're gonna miss everything!"

Yusuke shook his head and led him to the festival. The center of the village was teeming with people, all of them a buzzed with excitement. The ceremony commenced with loud traditional music blaring through the streets. An array of mystical beasts gathered, leading Yusuke and the rest of the group to the center of the village. As Yusuke walked to the podium, the music lulled to a stop and the crowd quieted down.

Yusuke cleared his throat and spoke," Uh, hey everyone. We're all here for the ending of the Festival of Souls, in love for my mother and father. It's the time we show how much we care for the people around us, humans and demons. So I won't keep you any longer. Exchange your gifts and have a great night!"

The crowd broke out into a cheer, and Yusuke walked down to meet the rest of the group. Kuwabara was already giving Yukina flowers, and a portrait of her he drew himself.

"Wow Kazuma. This is a surprise, but it is all very nice," said Yukina with a smile.

Kuwabara beamed. "Yeah, I really tried to capture all your beauty, but even the most beautiful painting couldn't compare to you."

Hiei grabbed the portrait and scowled. "This is shit. Were you even trying?"

"Shut up shrimp. You're only mad because our love is too great against you, and you can't handle it."

"Kuwabara, that doesn't make any sense," interjected Yusuke.

Yukina sighed, left the boys to fight and walked to speak with Botan and Keiko. When she left, Hiei burned the portrait and stomped on the ashes. Yusuke chuckled. Sanosuke turned to Yusuke, smiling expectantly. Yusuke smirked and looked at him.

"Yeah? What's with you?"

Sanosuke continued to smile. "I know you got me something."

Yusuke laughed and pulled out a medium sized bag. "Maybe." Yusuke handed him a present wrapped in blue cloth. With it, was a box with some kind of outfit. Sanosuke tore away the cloth, and in his hand was a kusarigama, a sickle with a metal chain and ball attached to the end.

"Wow! This is so cool!" Sanosuke exclaimed, swinging the ball already. He put the weapon down and opened the box. In the box was an outfit that looked just like Yusuke's, only in his size. It was a simple yellow shirt and pants with a blue sash attached to it. Sanosuke latched on to Yusuke's leg, hugging him.

"Okay, okay! Let go. You still have to train like you promised," said Yusuke smiling.

Keiko was looking at the two when Kurama pulled Botan away to give her the present he'd bought her. Botan unwrapped her present to see the kimono she tried on the day before. She was speechless. Kurama smiled at her before asking, "Well, isn't this the kimono you wanted?"

"I love it. I mean it's beautiful, but it cost so much!"

Kurama kissed her hand. "Don't worry about the price. It was well worth it."

Keiko shifted uncomfortably. Even her father had given her mother a necklace. He turned to Keiko and gave her some orange cosmos. She smiled and said thank you. Yusuke was still talking to Sanosuke, and hadn't given her a second glance. Just when Keiko was going to head back to the hotel, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Hey, Keiko? I was wondering if you could come with me?" Yusuke's voice mostly sounded the same, but it was quieter. Keiko thought it almost sounded bashful, but she was sure she was imagining things.

"Uh, yeah. I can go with you."

Yusuke looked kinda relieved and led her away from the crowd. Keiko exchanged a puzzled look at Botan as they left. They two didn't say much, but Keiko didn't mind. She liked the feeling of being near Yusuke. She liked holding his hand, and catching the little times that she caught him watching her. They arrived somewhere Keiko didn't expect at all. A graveyard. She expected to just keep walking, but Yusuke stopped, confirming they were at the right place. Yusuke walked carefully, avoiding the neglected tombstones until he came to a grave covered in flowers. Yusuke pulled a bouquet of striped carnations.

"It's my mom's gravestone. I just needed to give something to her you know?"

Keiko nodded. She noted the meaning behind the striped carnation. "Were those her favorites?"

Yusuke stooped to lay the flowers at her grave, "No, but these stand for sorrow, and I really do miss her, though I can't remember a lot about her now."

"Oh. I'm sorry, Yusuke." She didn't really know what else to say.

"It's fine, she died a while ago."

Yusuke stood and gave her a smile. "Okay, now I can show you what I really wanted to. Come on, it's not too far."

Keiko followed Yusuke. They were walking further and further away from the village. Yusuke led her through a wooded path until they came to a small hill near a stream. The hues of orange and pink had darkened to various shades of blue. Keiko could hear the insects chirping at one another, and it was strangely peaceful. Fireflies danced around the stream and every once in a while they would light up, shining in the water's reflection.

"Yusuke, this is so beautiful," breathed out Keiko.

Yusuke sat down on the ground," Yeah, this is the perfect location to see all the fireworks too."

Keiko sat next to him, and blushed slightly when he wrapped his arm around her waist. The fireworks started. The sky was filled with the pops and crackles of them, and the sky was cast in a display of whites and reds and purples among other colors. Keiko's eyes were big with excitement, watching every bit of the light show until they all fizzed out of the sky. She turned back to Yusuke, who was giving her a shy smile from the corners of his eye.

"Thank you, Yusuke. This was a great present for the Festival of Souls."

Yusuke looked puzzled before laughing, "This wasn't my present. I haven't given you anything."

Keiko looked down with a blush. "Oh I just thought that maybe you got me something…" She focused on the cosmos her dad gave her, trying to save herself some embarrassment. Yusuke's smile disappeared. He eyed the orange flowers.

"Did someone give you those?" he said a little possessively. Keiko noticed.

"Just my dad. He gave them to me while you were talking to Sanosuke."

Yusuke's eyes sighed relief. "Oh, okay. I was just wondering."

He reached in his bag, pulling out two sets of flowers. One Keiko recognized as her favorites, the cosmos, and the other were gardenias.

"I'm actually pretty glad you showed up. I had no idea which flowers to get you, and I'm glad you're into knowing the meanings of the flowers. That made my choices so much easier," admitted Yusuke with a chuckle.

Keiko looked at the gardenias. They meant lovely, or secret love. Did he think she was lovely or did he really like her? Keiko bit her lip. Yusuke, wasting no time, pulled out her second present, the kimono, which was in a simple gray box with a blue bow. Keiko timidly opened it. It was the same kimono she had been wearing when Yusuke and Kurama walked up. The royal blue kimono seemed illuminated in Keiko's hands. The kimono was decorated in purple and white flowers, a with beautiful goldenrod bow attached. Keiko's words were caught in her throat. Yusuke kept his eyes on her intently.

"Thank you Yusuke. No one has ever done anything like this for me ever."

The wind picked up, and Keiko shivered. Yusuke pulled Keiko into his chest. "I just wanted to do something. I don't know what it is about you Keiko, but you're different from other girls. You're just special." Keiko thought everything was perfect until…

"Well, would you look at this. It looks like the humans were sharing a moment," sneered an unknown voice.

Keiko peeked over Yusuke's shoulder to see two particularly large and sinister looking demons.

"You two should have stayed within the village. Now prepare to die," the leader, some bear demon called out.

"I'm only warning you once. Leave now before I kill you," answered Yusuke's steel voice.

A snake demon began chuckling." You have the audacity to threaten us? How about we fuck that pretty little girlfriend of yours before we kill you, human?"

Yusuke's eyes locked with the demon's. Keiko noticed his usual chocolate brown eyes were now red in color.

"My apologies. I guess you guys don't know who I am." Yusuke stood up in front of Keiko. In a split second Yusuke unleashed his demonic power. His skin became tattooed with his blue demonic markings. His hair spiraled out, ending around his ankles, and on his face was a sadistic smirk.

The wind stilled, and the place was silent. Yusuke turned to the snake demon. "Now what was that you were saying?"

"You' re-you're the Mazoku! My lord, I'm sorry! I didn't know! It's just you were with that human girl!"

"The one you wanted to fuck before you killed me, right?"

The two demons took a step back. Yusuke had a glint in his eye as he gripped the snake demon. He picked the demon up. "You wanted to kill me right? Well, answer me!"

"Please my lord. We are loyal to you!" However as Yusuke shook him, a scroll of some kind fell out the demon's pocket. Yusuke dropped the demon and picked it up. His eyes scanned over the writing before narrowing his eyes at the demons. He punched the snake demon, causing a green liquid to spew from his mouth. Without a word, Yusuke moved on to the bear demon. He kicked him in the throat, repeatedly. The demon was drooling blood, paralyzed in pain. His finger began glowing red and before the demons could scream, they were dead. Their blood spattered on Yusuke, some blood oozing from some of the discarded appendages. Yusuke picked up the scroll, and shifted his eyes toward Keiko. His markings disappeared, and his eyes returned to their original chocolate brown. Yusuke pulled out a knife, and chopped off the mane of hair he had to its shorter length.

She had never before seen him so much of a… savage. Keiko was struck with fear, unmoving. She remembered why her father hated demons, and why humans were so afraid of them. They were monsters, killers. Amongst all the flirting, and gifts, she'd forgotten what Yusuke was capable of. In seconds he could turn on her. She knew she couldn't defeat him, but she wouldn't give up without a fight.

Yusuke watched Keiko's movements closely. She stood slowly and tried to dart away. With his tremendous speed, he easily grabbed her. They fell to the ground. Keiko squirmed against him, feebly trying to run. Yusuke held her in place, avoiding the growing bulge in his pants as Keiko rubbed against him, trying to escape.

"Keiko," he grunted," stop moving or I really may do something I'll regret."

Keiko's movements stopped. Yusuke got off her, but still held her close.

"I'm sorry about what happened back there. I didn't mean to scare you. I actually wanted to try and show a different side of me, but all you keep seeing is me flirting with you or killing."

Keiko didn't respond.

"Listen I know none of this makes sense, but I'll explain this later. First we need to get back to the others immediately."

Yusuke stood and held his hand out to Keiko. She gathered her gifts, and made it back to the village in silence. It had already been a couple of hours since the festival ended when they reached the inn. Almost everyone had fallen asleep, except for Hiroshi, who was waiting on Keiko, and Sanosuke, who was waiting on Yusuke.

"What happened, Yusuke? You're all covered in blood and dirt," inquired Sanosuke.

"What's wrong with you Keiko? You look terrible." Hiroshi added.

Keiko still didn't answer. Instead she excused herself, gently pushing pass the two. Yusuke watched her walk away.

"Why are you still up, Sanosuke? The festival ended hours ago."

"I know, but I got you a present so I was waiting for you to come back so I could give it to you."

Yusuke turned to him. "Okay, but give me a moment with Mr. Yukimura."

Sanosuke nodded, and returned to the room. Hiroshi watched Sanosuke walk away, his teeth gritting.

"I'm gonna assume you have something to say to me…sir," Yusuke stated.

Hiroshi seethed. "Where the hell do you get off taking my daughter somewhere, and then you come in almost three hours late with no explanation?"

"I didn't know we had a certain bedtime. Look, it's late, I have a lot on my mind, and I'm tired. You can stay up, but I'm going to bed. Keiko's fine. We didn't do anything."

"You expect me to believe that coming from someone like you?"

"Well if you don't believe what I say, then why the hell are you asking me all these questions?"

The two were silence, at a stalemate before Yusuke spoke again. "I swear to you, I'm not gonna hurt your daughter. I'm not a monster."

Yusuke's eyes were filled with sincerity and a sadness Hiroshi couldn't make sense of. Yusuke left and headed to his room, but stopped first at the girls' room. He knocked softly. At a minute or two, he heard feet scuffling, and Keiko opened the door. Her eyes exposed that she was expecting her father, not Yusuke, to be knocking.

"Uh, hey Keiko." Yusuke attempted sound cool, but Keiko didn't notice. He took a step back.

"Tell me how you're feeling."

Keiko shifted her feet. "Yusuke, you scared me. One moment you're acting all sweet, the next you're killing people. That's wrong. I should hate you, hate your kind, but… I don't know what's wrong with me."

Keiko had stopped talking to him, and more to herself. "I let one guy flirt with me and I completely forget about my moral standards. I can't believe I like a murderer…a monster."

Yusuke grabbed her waist and pulled her towards him. "I'm not a monster, Keiko. I don't like killing, but I have to sometimes. I swear to you though, I'm not a monster."

He was pleading with her. The pit of Keiko's stomach was turning in knots.

"Then why? Why are you doing this? What's wrong with you?"

Yusuke nuzzled his nose into the crook of her neck. "I want to make you understand what's happening, but I don't want you to get hurt so just trust me, okay? I want to protect you, protect everyone so just believe me. If I don't do what I do, a lot of people what suffer."

"People are suffering now! Humans are being bullied and killed by demons every day!" Keiko interjected.

Yusuke stroked her cheek, letting his finger drift and linger at her bottom lip. "I know Keiko."

"No, you don't. You have so much power. No one ever destroyed your home, and took away the people you grew to love. No one ever thrust you in this new world. You give me these gifts, and you say all these…things to me. You make me feel like I'm special when just a few days ago, I was shit to you."

Keiko to push him away, but Yusuke didn't budge. "Why are you trying to find reasons to not like me? It's obvious you do. And…I like you," he added softly.

Keiko stiffened. Yusuke continued. "I'm sure a lot of people have told you that already. Don't get freaked out. I'm not in love with you. I just like being around you and I don't want you to be mad at me."

A blush crept to Keiko's face, and Yusuke saw it clearly even in the dim light. He smiled at her shyness. "Anyway, it's late so I'll let you sleep. We'll talk more in the morning okay?"

Keiko nodded. She turned to go back to bed when Yusuke caught her hand.

"What is it-?"

Yusuke pressed his lips to hers gently. His fingers ran through her coffee colored hair. Keiko's thoughts were in a haze. Yusuke's lips were soft and warm. On top of all of that this was her first kiss. Yusuke pulled back and Keiko pouted unknowingly. "See you tomorrow, Keiko."

Woot this is my longest chapter yet. This really felt like a roller coaster of emotions for Keiko. Hope you enjoyed it. We'll find out why Yusuke killed those demons and what was on that scroll. Oh yeah, do you guys want short chapters that's updated more, or longer chapters that takes longer to update? Please review and tell me. And what do you think is going here? Is it obvious the direction I'm going? I don't know, but please review and I'll keep writing :D.


	6. Chapter 6: Two More Join

Chapter 6: Two More Join

Keiko shut the bedroom door and snuggled up under the covers, trying to make sense of the chaos. When she couldn't she, she shook Botan awake.

"What? Where have you been?" Botan asked groggily.

"I was out with Yusuke, and we were attacked, and he killed the demon, and he kissed me, and gave me gifts." Keiko whispered in one breath.

Botan shot up out of the bed. "Ok, we have some catching up to do."

Keiko retold the story with Botan eagerly listening.

"What was on that scroll thing? Did Yusuke tell you or could you read it?"

Keiko shook her head, "No I was just shocked by what happened. Do you feel like this is normal? I don't even know what to think anymore. I feel like I'm betraying my race being so close to him."

Botan walked over and hugged Keiko, " You're betraying anyone. You like a guy. He likes you back. End of story. Besides it will be morning soon and then we'll have all our answers."

Keiko sighed and nodded in agreement. "I really want to know what was on that scroll to make Yusuke flip out."

"Me too. If you want, we can see if the boys are still awake." Botan grinned. Keiko looked at her and thought it was probably because she wanted to spent a little more time with Kurama. Still when she started her interrogation on Yusuke she wanted to have back up.

With new determination, Keiko stood up and the pair made their way to the boys room. Botan gently tapped on the door and listened for a sound. After a moment of shuffling, a sleepy Sanosuke opened the door.

"Hey Keiko. Hey Botan. It's really late and the guys left." Sanosuke yawned, rubbing his eyes.

Botan peered in and scratched her head. " Where did they go? Can we come in?"

Sanosuke opened the door wider to let the girls in. Keiko walked in and sat on what she assumed was Yusuke's bed. Pu laid snuggled up against a pillow, but waddled to Keiko's lap when she sat down. Botan sat on the opposite bed.

Sanosuke hopped on the bed next to Keiko and pulled the covers in around him.

"When will the guys be back?" asked Keiko softly.

Sanosuke looked at her, "I don't really know. Where Yusuke came back he looked really tense. He whispered something to Kurama and Hiei and then they just kinda left."

Botan chimed in, "So he didn't say anything?"

"Yusuke didn't say anything about where he was going. He just said I should get some sleep and if I got scared or something I should go to Kuwabara's room. That was it though."

Keiko stood up and laid Pu back down. "Then I guess we'll head back to our room then."

"Wait!" Sanosuke jolted up before calming. "You don't have to leave yet. You can wait around if you want."

Sanosuke looked down as a little blush tinted his cheeks. "I'm not really used to sleeping by myself yet."

Keiko smiled and nodded, "We can keep you company then."

- Yusuke walked back to the hill where he'd left the demon. "Do you guys recognize him anywhere?"

Hiei walked closer, "He just looks like some low class demon to me."

Kurama nodded, "I don't recognize him either. Who would sent such a weak being with such powerful information? Surely this had to be some sort of trap."

Yusuke pulled the scroll out from his pocket and stared at it, " I don't know. The demon really did think I was human for a moment. What really confuses me is why write your plans down in such an old way? With all the technology there is in the city. I mean, that's where the attack is supposed to be anyway."

Kurama read the scroll over again, "Maybe because it's all new. Obviously these beings want things to return to how it was before Raizen's rule and the war. Perhaps their way of messaging is a symbol of some kind."

Yusuke stuck the scroll back in his pockets, "Well, if these bastards are rising up some army, we need to get some men together too! Hiei, go find Jin and Chu and let them know what's going on. You guys can meet up with us at the inn. It's time to pay my dad a visit."

Hiei smirked and without a word left. Yusuke and Kurama headed back to the end silently. As the reached the door of their room, Kurama spoke softly.

"Yusuke, wouldn't it be best to leave the child here and the rest of the group as well? It would seem that we have more enemies than we first thought."

"Well, that why they need to come. They would be safest in my dad's territory anyway."

Before Kurama could protest, Yusuke moved past him and opened the door. He chuckled a little at the sight he saw. "Oh Kurama, it looks like you have a wild sleeper in your bed."

Puzzled Kurama walked in to see Botan. The covers were sprawled around her body, a pillow was over her head, and Kurama could hear the gentle snoring coming from her lips. His eyes moved to Yusuke's bed and he gave a light laugh. "Well at least I have room to sleep in my bed."

Yusuke turned to look at his own bed. Pu had taken most of Sanosuke's pillow, using it as a bed for himself. Sanosuke had curled into his own little ball, huddled up with covers all around him, and a thumb in his mouth. His other hand had a loose grip of the fabric of Keiko's gown. Finally Yusuke's eyes rested on Keiko. She was breathing softly, and every so often shifted a little. Most of her body was under the blankets, but sometime in the night she had kicked her legs out from under them. Her hair was scattered around her face. Yusuke smiled.

"Well I don't know about you, but I could really go for some sleep now."

Keiko turned into a source of warmth and buried her face away from the cold. She heard a chuckle and a heartbeat in her ear. She bolted up.

"Woah, Keiko calm down," Yusuke said softly. He leaned up and propped himself against the pillow.

Keiko relaxed when she recognized Yusuke, but then blushed at their closeness.

"When did you come back?" Keiko asked, lying on the pillow.

"Maybe an hour ago. Why?"

"We need to talk. You have a lot of questions to answer, mister."

Yusuke smirked and stretched a little. He lied down and laid Keiko back on his chest. "Can you at least wait until daylight, babe?"

"Don't call me babe. What are we anyway?"

Yusuke turned away. "Come on Keiko, you're messing up a good moment. We'll talk later."

Keiko pouted and pushed away from Yusuke. Yusuke sighed and pulled the blankets over him.

"Yusuke! Yusuke!" Jin burst through the door. A sleepy Yusuke sent him a glare.

Chu followed Jin in and yanked the blankets off. "Up and at 'em, my Prince. Oh."

Chu fixed his eyes on Keiko, who was shivering from her loss of heat. "So you had to get one more screw in before heading off?"

Jin snickered and looked at Sanosuke, "Hopefully not with the lad in the bed too. That could scar a kid Yusuke."

"Well it's nice to see you know how to knock," Kurama said sarcastically. He stood up and head to the bathroom. "I suppose now is as good a time as any to depart. We should wake the others."

Yusuke sat up groggily and shook Keiko awake. "You need to wake up. We're leaving soon. You too, Botan."

Botan stood up slowly, and sleepily brushed past the two demons heading to her room.

"I didn't even see her. Fox boy has a girl too?" Chu asked.

Keiko rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and looked between Yusuke and the two strange demons quizzically.

"They're friends of mine. The one with the blue Mohawk and stupid grin is Chu. The one with red hair and even stupider grin is Jin. They're going to be joining us on our trip." Yusuke smiled.

"Where exactly are we going?" Keiko asked as she stood and adjust her gown.

Yusuke gave Sanosuke a quick shake and looked at her. "Get all your stuff and meet us at the entrance of the village. We're going to see my dad, King Raizen."


	7. Chapter 7 Explanations

Chapter 7

Explanations

Keiko blinked. The thought of meeting Yusuke's father, the _king_ seemed to be a bad dream. She glanced at her parents walking silently. Sleep was still apparent in their eyes. Keiko knew they couldn't wait to make it into the city and settle down. At least stopping at the village gave her time to buy the right shoes for this travel.

The sky was light blue with big, billowing clouds and the many trees shaded the group from the sun's rays. A light breeze bristled through her hair and Keiko smiled. She looked at the others. Sanosuke was walking excitedly talking to Botan about all the things he heard was in the city. Yusuke was mumbling to all the guys, excluding Kuwabara. Kuwabara was surprising quiet.

"Mazoku." Keiko's father, Hiroshi called out.

Yusuke turned slightly, "What is it?"

"My family and I will only require your help until we reach the city. Then we will go our separate ways."

Yusuke scoffed and turned back, "Yeah, whatever. Do what you want old man."

Kuwabara spoke up. "Hey, Urameshi. When do we get to the city and what's it like anyway?"

Yusuke scratched the back of his head. "Honestly I don't really know what to say about it. I can show you around. It's hard for me to summarize, but it's like a different world from your village. Kurama can explain it better than I can."

"The city is mostly made of demons, but there is a sizable amount of humans that live there as well. At surface level the city looks barbaric, but the technology available is unparalleled. If we keep this pace we should arrive by nightfall."

"I hear that you can see movies anytime you want! There's a lot of different food to eat and everybody drives in machines. Is that all true?" Sanosuke asked earnestly.

Yusuke smiled and let out a laugh, "Well yeah basically. Of course you can't just run off on your own. There are still some demons that really like to cause trouble for humans."

Jin slapped Yusuke on the back playfully, "Yeah, but what demon would go causing trouble with the lot of us following him?"

Botan stepped up to Kurama, matching his stride, "So what will happen to us once we get to the city?"

Kurama gave her a small smile, " After we arrive within the city limits, you're actually free to do as you please. Yusuke, Hiei, and I will report to the king. Of course I think it would be best to stay with us at least that first night. It would be easier to navigate the city in the day."

Botan nodded, agreeing with the fox demon. Hiei glared at the group of humans behind him. Kuwabara glared back. "Hey, what's your problem small fry? We haven't done anything to you."

Hiei scoffed, "You're slowing us down. All of us, even Pu, can travel at least triple this pace. If we weren't babysitting you, we could be in the city within 2 hours."

Kuwabara knew he was probably telling the truth, but he hated his attitude. "Well no one is making you stay. You should just leave cuz we won't miss you!"

"Actually, I think Kuwabara is right." Yusuke said.

The others looked quizzically at him. Hiei frowned and waited to hear why Yusuke would betray him.

"No, think about it. We have some pretty time sensitive information here. We should get it to my dad as quickly as possible and Hiei is the fastest in the group. If Hiei goes now, a course of action can be planned by the time we meet up again."

Chu smirked. "Well that's a right bright idea, Yusuke. I'm pretty surprised you thought of it."

Yusuke returned the smirk, "Well even I have my moments."

Yusuke pulled the scroll out of his bag and handed it to Hiei. Chu stepped up next to the duo.

"I think I'll go along with Hiei as well. While he's plotting out a plan with Raizen, I'll meet up with some old friends. You may need some help with this one, Yusuke, and I'll ensure you get it. By any means necessary." Chu grinned and made a fist.

"Well I'll stay here with Yusuke. There doesn't seem to be a need for me just yet, and more importantly Yusuke has a lot to update me on," responded Jin, shifting his eyes over to Keiko.

Chu caught on and laughed. "Well then we'll be off. When you find out, tell me about the two Sheilas they've got to their sides too!"

Before Yusuke and Kurama could retort though, Chu and Hiei had taken off, leaving a trail of dust in their wake. Jin turned to Keiko and smiled, wiggling his ears in anticipation. Kuwabara looked between Keiko and Yusuke and Botan and Kurama.

"Uh wait did I miss something here? What are these guys talking about?"

Keiko smiled at Kuwabara and shook her head. "It's nothing, Kuwabara."

Kuwabara shrugged and turned his attention to Yusuke again. "So what time sensitive information were you talking about? Would it explain why you attacked the village? Why did you decide to save us anyway?"

Yusuke sighed and cleared his throat. "Actually yeah that information does kinda explain why I destroyed your village. I'm doing some detective work for my dad. Some demons are trying to stage a rebellion against him and turn things back to when demons had free reign."

Botan interrupted, "They basically have free reign now! Very few humans can stand up to a demon."

"That is true," Yusuke continued, "but these demons want to return to the days where a human was nothing. Back to when they could eat humans, sell them as slaves or do whatever they want. At one time my dad was their biggest supporter."

Keiko looked puzzled. As far as she knew King Raizen had been in favor of human and demon equality. "I thought King Raizen was always pretty progressive in his thoughts about humans though."

"No, he changed when he met my mom. Before that his main diet actually consisted of humans. He stopped though after he fell in love with one and of course had a half human child."

Sanosuke gasped, "Your dad ate people! Does that mean you've eaten people too?"

Yusuke grinned and shook his head. "No, it's never really sounded tasty to me."

Kuwabara scratched his head. "Okay so your dad ate humans and then when he fell in love with one, he stopped. I get that. I understand why some demons may hate him now, but that doesn't explain why you came after our village. There were only humans that lived there."

Kurama spoke up. "There had been rumors that some demons had teamed up with the very humans they claimed to have hated in some more remote areas. These demons promise the leaders of a village riches or power over kingdoms for their cooperation. There have even been cases where demons take control over a leader's body to deceive the villagers. We thought your village was in one of those cases."

"Honestly after I saw how you treated a kid, I was going to kill everyone. Everyone in that village seemed off, brainwashed, and willing to turn on anyone to save themselves. I thought regardless of your stance about my dad, scum like that shouldn't be around. I decided to tell you guys to leave because you helped Sanosuke, even when your village turned on you." Yusuke concluded.

"I'm glad I did though." He gave Keiko a quick side glance that didn't go unnoticed by Jin and Kurama.

"So you don't even feel bad for what you've done?" Hiroshi asked.

"Well no. I don't kill people for the fun of it. I wondered if I should have just taken your elders out, but I thought after seeing the villagers someone like them would just rise up and then I would have to come back to finish the job. That's why I took everyone out in one big bang. No pain for them and I don't have to return."

Sanosuke yawned. "How much further do we have? I'm getting tired again."

Jin perked up. "We still have about five hours or so at this pace. We probably should go on and rest though."

Yusuke agreed and stopped at the next clearing by a small stream. Yusuke leaned against a tree, staring up and noting the clouds had begun to darken. "We can't rest too long. We'll have to stay ahead of that storm that's forming."

Jin sat next to him, grinning like a cat. "Like father, like son."

"What are you talking about?"

Jin's ears wiggled with excitement and whispered, "I'm talking about the girl you keep looking at, Keiko. She's a beauty and you're smitten. I wonder what Raizen will say. He'll be hounding you about kids for sure!"

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Jin you sound like some hyperactive girl jumping to conclusions like that. Keep your voice down. Yeah I like her, okay? I can't explain it all right now so just drop it. At least until we can talk in private."

Jin's grin stayed plastered on his face. "Alright Urameshi, but I'm holding you to that promise as soon we get to the city."

A roll of thunder was heard in the distance and the two stood up. Yusuke stretched and turned to the group. "Okay, let's keep moving. We still have a long way to go."


	8. Chapter 8 King Raizen

**Okay I went back and revised every chapter, but if you catch a mistake let me know. Raizen meets the group in this chapter.**

**Chapter 8**

**King Raizen**

When the group finally arrived in the city, the last rays of daylight were disappearing. They had taken more rest stops than Keiko thought they would have. It was probably to accommodate the humans within the group more, especially Sanosuke. Every hour or so, he would drag behind the others and Yusuke would threaten to leave him behind. The little guy would run to the head of the group and try to keep that pace, but; would end up even more tired than before. Halfway through the trip Yusuke decided to just carry him.

_(Flashback)_

"_So what's what the lad anyway? I never took you for a babysitting type," asked Jin._

"_He came from their village, and I won't be babysitting him because he will be training and getting much stronger, isn't that right?" Yusuke nudged Sanosuke._

_Sanosuke nodded with a small smile. "Do you think I can be as strong as you?"_

_Yusuke shrugged nonchalantly. "Well if Kuwabara can wield a spirit sword, you can do something too I'm sure. I mean you're already smarter than him and you're like 6 right?"_

_Sanosuke stifled a small laugh. "I'm seven."_

"_Hey! I'm actually really smart! Why do these guys keep picking on me?" Kuwabara pouted a bit._

_(End of Flashback)_

Keiko let out a small giggle. Botan turned to her, confused. "What's so funny, Keiko?"

"I was just thinking about poor Kuwabara earlier. He always seems to be the butt of their jokes, but it all seems good natured to me."

Botan smiled and agreed. "In fact, he might be adjusting better than the rest of us with these demons."

The group walked through the gates and was greeted by Hiei.

"I knew you would take your sweet time getting here. Your father is waiting you. He wants to see you immediately."

"Well I guess I kept the old man waiting long enough. Let's go and then I'll show you where you'll be staying the night."

"You go ahead, Urameshi! I've got to get Chu before he gets too drunk and starts his fights like usual. I'll meet you at your place, and we'll continue our conversation." Jin called out, flying as fast as the wind could take him.

"He could fly the whole time? Amazing." Botan commented.

Kurama looked on. "Yes, he's the wind master. I'm surprised he walked with us as long as he did. He loves the air much more than being confined to the ground."

"I can see why. Flying looks so fun, I wish I could fly somehow." Botan sighed.

"I think that's enough daydreaming. I was only told to deliver the message and I'm sure you can find your way to the castle. I'll return when you're done." Hiei quipped.

Kuwabara glared, "If you aren't bothering to go, how will you know when to come back?"

Hiei glared back, "I'll know."

His Jagan eye opened and glowed through his headband. Kuwabara took a step back.

"Ah, what is that glowing? You have three eyes?"

Hiei elected not to respond giving a look to Kurama and Yusuke akin to pity before disappearing in a flash.

Kuwabara sulked, "That guy really freaks me out. He's not normal even for a demon."

Yusuke pulled Kuwabara along with the rest of the group. "Oh come on. It doesn't matter anyway and we have to get going if you want to get some quality relaxation."

The castle wasn't that far from the city entrance and within twenty minutes time, they had arrived. The guards gave a bow to Yusuke before he waved them off. When Yusuke made it to his father's room, a guard stopped him.

"My Prince, you may enter, but the _humans _are not permitted."

Yusuke noted the disgust and growled, "Look cut the crap and let me see my dad!"

Before the guard could respond he heard a low guttural voice. "Enter my son."

Yusuke smirked and pushed past the guard with the others following suit. Keiko gasped when she saw Raizen. He was lean yet muscular like Yusuke. He didn't have a shirt on, but he wore white pants with a yellow sash. Her eyes traveled to his face, admiring the tattooed demonic marking below his left eye. His white hair streaked around him, pulled back slightly from his yellow headband. He smiled, showing off teeth like a wolf. He stood up. He was easily a foot taller than Yusuke. Raizen's eyes were piercing as he stepped closer.

"You brought me a snack?" Raizen asked, taking in Sanosuke on Yusuke's back. He smirked as he looked upon the rest of the group.

"No, it looks like you brought me a whole meal."

Hiroshi pushed Keiko and her mother behind him.

"Yusuke! You said your dad didn't eat people anymore!" Kuwabara cried out.

He pushed to the front of the group and brought out his spirit sword. "Well I'm not getting eaten without a fight."

Kurama shook his head, unfazed. Yusuke pushed Kuwabara back.

"He's joking, you idiot. Put your sword away." Yusuke then turned to Raizen. " Now old man, what do you want? I just got in and I don't feel like a long reunion."

Raizen gave a sadistic grin and motioned toward Sanosuke. "Yusuke, put the boy down."

Yusuke slid Sanosuke off his back and no sooner after that Raizen had thrown him into a wall. The sudden impact had Yusuke coughing up blood. Everyone watched in silent horror at the pain the king inflicted on his own son. The force of that throw was hard enough to crack the skulls of humans and demons alike, the splintered stone wall was a testament to that. Yusuke staggered up only to have Raizen grab him by the throat, raising him up to his eye level.

"You still have much to learn boy so don't get smart with me. You will never get stronger by avoiding me or your duties. You're not ready to take this throne."

"Maybe I don't want it," Yusuke rasped out.

Raizen tightened his grip. "I didn't ask what you wanted! If this throne was taken from you, you could never reclaim it as you are now."

"I'll just get stronger old man. I'll show you and everyone else."

Raizen smirked and threw Yusuke on the ground towards Sanosuke, watching him roll a little. Kurama ran to his side checking for injuries. Keiko ran to his side as well, angry tears spilling from eyes.

"What's wrong with you? That's your only son and you could have killed him!"

Raizen walked towards her and couched down in front of her. "Watch your tongue girl. You might just lose it."

He reached a hand out toward Keiko.

"Get away from her!"

With lightning quick speed, Yusuke punched Raizen in the jaw before giving him a direct hit with his spirit gun. Raizen was knocked back a couple feet. With quick thinking of his own, he dodged the blast, sending it through the wall and into the sky.

"My lord, what was that sound? Are you alright in there? May we enter?"

The sound of a knob being turned was the only audible thing on that room. Armored soldiers filed into the room, ready to lay down their lives to protect their king. A couple soldiers gasped at the gaping hole behind King Raizen. The hushed silence continued as Raizen stood up, rubbing the newly developed bruise on his jaw. His arms showed some singe marks, possibly from him blocking the spirit gun before dodging it completely. Raizen touched his forehead, noting that his headband had somehow been blow away. He focused his attention on his son again. He was still in the same position as when he'd fired his blast, crouching in front of Keiko. His breathing had evened out, but he was still tense, feral looking like an animal trapped. The most interesting thing however were his eyes, now dark crimson in color.

'_Interesting, even his beast wishes to protect that girl. Like father, like son. Interesting indeed.'_

"Well, seeing as you managed to land a blow after all, I suppose you aren't completely hopeless, son. We'll continue our conversation tomorrow since you don't seem up to bonding with your dearest dad. Get out. Guards, fix that wall."

Yusuke had a blend between a glare and a smirk. _'He keeps saying to stop avoiding him, but every time I see him, I get my ass handed to me. Still at least this time, I'm not the only one with a bruise.'_

Yusuke looked at the red mark on his father's face and smirked. Kurama and Kuwabara helped him to his feet and the group made their way out the room and toward the castle's entrance.

"Yusuke," Sanosuke asked quietly. "will we be staying here tonight?"

Keiko was worried about that too. The king seemed absolutely tyrannical .

"No way! I made sure of that. My place is much more modern than this. This castle has been here for centuries and my dad doesn't bother to do anything with it. Besides you see how we greet each other. I'd die living with him now," Yusuke laughed a little.

"You won't train me like your dad does, right?"

Yusuke looked down at Sanosuke's panicked expression. "No, I'm sure you aren't nearly as hard headed as I am."

"Does that happen often? Your father attacking you like that, Yusuke?" questioned Hiroshi.

Yusuke looked back. "You know that's the first time you've said my name. Yeah, him throwing me like a ragdoll is his way of saying 'I love you, now get stronger you idiot'. I hoped he wouldn't be so rough with you guys around, but I guess he wanted to put on a show since he had the audience. Showoff."

"You seemed plenty strong to me, but his power dwarfs yours by comparison. He could have killed you," stated Hiroshi.

"Nah he wouldn't have gone that far, but look at you showing concern for my life. There may be hope for us yet."

Hiroshi glared albeit milder than before. Yusuke turned back around. They made their way out the castle, and navigated through the crowd of demons and humans until they reached a large concrete building surrounded by the same guards of Raizen's castle.

"It doesn't look like much on the outside, but the inside is amazing."

They walked in and were greeted by a tapestry of gold and crème colored décor. The floor was a smooth marble with a shiny finish and the walls contained paintings of all the great war gods including Raizen. Yusuke smirked at everyone's awed expression, with the exception of Kurama. They walked toward the elevator and Yusuke asked for room keys for his guests.

"Yusuke, would there be a room I could share with Keiko?" Botan asked excitedly.

"So you girls can talk the night away?"

She nodded unashamed.

"Yeah, we've got three and four bedrooms here. We keep this place pretty accommodating for larger groups, especially if there's a conference or a treaty about to be negotiated. What about you Kuwabara? Who are you staying with?"

Kuwabara contemplated, "Well I know I don't want to be up listening to a bunch of girly talk so I'll stay with you and the kid, but no funny business."

Yusuke looked unfazed, "Suit yourself."

He handed the Yukimara's keys to Hiroshi and then gave one to Botan. Kuwabara and Kurama received their keys as well.

"My room is the top floor and you guys are right below me. While you are unpacking, I'll order us something to eat. I'm starving. Come up when you're done." Yusuke explained.

The group broke off and Botan rushed to see what she and Keiko's bedrooms would look like. It had begun, their transition to a new life.

**I planned on writing more but I decided to break the chapters up. The next chapter will be about adjusting to city life as well as the beginning of training. Raizen is gonna take it upon himself to train Yusuke and his tactics will be more cruel than Genkai's. Somehow I'll sneak some fluff in there too. **** There are probably questions you have that will need to be addressed in upcoming chapters so ask away and don't forget to favorite, follow and review!**


	9. Chapter 9 Good Time Gone,Raizen's Wishes

**I really must say thank you so much to all you who helped me get out of my writing funk and offer some great ideas and advice. I hope my ideas for this story grows more concrete as the chapters progress. This is the point where the friendships can begin to develop because the battles are soon to come! Now on with the story :D**

**Chapter 9**

**Good Time Gone and Raizen's Wishes**

Yusuke turned the handle to his apartment. He opened the door, setting his bags on the couch of his living room. Kuwabara, Pu and Sanosuke followed behind. Yusuke's living room wall was a dark grey with white trimmings. The floor was wood and a beautiful tan color. The couches were taupe with a woven texture paired with grey pillows. The kitchen counters were grey granite and all the appliances were stainless steel. The whole room was complete with a clear sliding door leading out to a private balcony.

"Wow, this is nice! You can see the whole city from your windows!" said an awed Kuwabara.

Yusuke smiled. "It's pretty nice. I had my place remodeled so it looks pretty different from a lot of other rooms here, but I wanted a place that looked like a guy's apartment. I like traveling but it's nothing like being home. Here, I'll show you where you two will be sleeping."

Pu headed for Yusuke's room while Yusuke led Kuwabara to his room. It was a good sized room with light grey colored walls and a steel colored rug covering the wood floor. There was a queen sized bed with royal blue sheets and pillows, a dresser, a study table, and a closet. Above the dresser hung a TV on a wall mount. Kuwabara grinned.

"Oh heck yeah! I'm never leaving this place. I even have my own bathroom here!"

Yusuke laughed. "Oh whatever. As soon as you get your ass together, you're out."

Kuwabara waved him off and began unpacking. Yusuke led Sanosuke to the room closest to Yusuke's. He opened the room and let Sanosuke in. Sanosuke stood at the doorframe with wide eyes. The layout was the same as Kuwabara's.

"The room is a little smaller than Kuwabara's, but it should be large enough for you. We'll have to get you some more stuff to personalize it though." Yusuke turned to see Sanosuke unmoving.

"Don't you want to come in?"

"Is this room and all this stuff mine?" Sanosuke asked quietly.

Yusuke took his hand and brought him to the middle of the room. "Sure is. Unpack your stuff and check it out."

Sanosuke walked to his own full sized bed and bounced on it lightly. "This will be the very first time I've had my own bed and a room of my own." Sanosuke grabbed in bag and pulled out a picture. "Wait, Yusuke. I still have to give you your festival present."

Yusuke sat down on the bed. He handed Yusuke a picture he drew of the two of them on top of Pu in phoenix form. Yusuke smiled and ruffled Sanosuke's hair. "Thanks, it's really cool. It's really good too. I'll find somewhere special to put this, okay?"

Sanosuke beamed. Yusuke stood up and left the room. He walked into the kitchen and put the picture on the refrigerator, holding it down with a magnet. There was a knock at the door. Yusuke walked and opened the door. The delivery guy was struggling with the many boxes of pizza. The aroma wafted to Yusuke's nose, nearly causing him to drool. He quickly paid for his food and set the pizza down on the kitchen counter. He walked to the fridge and pulled out some cans of soda that had already been stocked there.

"Hey Kuwabara! Sanosuke! The food's here. You guys ever had pizza?" Yusuke called out.

Sanosuke came running out first. He stared at the boxes quizzically. Yusuke handed him a plate and napkin.

"Go on and eat some, it's good I swear," Yusuke implored.

Sanosuke took a small bite from a slice of cheese pizza. "It is good!"

Sanosuke grabbed two more slices to put on his plate eagerly. Yusuke let out a small laugh.

"See I told you! Just don't eat too much too quickly or you'll get sick. You can eat that in your room and watch TV. Maybe a good movie is on."

Sanosuke's eyes widened in delight. He nodded and grabbed his plate and a can of soda, nearly knocking down Kuwabara when he ran to his room. Kuwabara moved to the side and walked up the Yusuke.

"Geez, times like this I kinda miss the old Sanosuke," remarked Kuwabara.

Yusuke grabbed a couple slices of pepperoni and sausage pizza. He moved his bags off the couch. "What do you mean 'old Sanosuke'?"

Kuwabara grabbed his food and drinks for the both of them. He handed a soda to Yusuke. "Back in the village, he was quiet and shy. I mean really reserved, even with other kids, but he was respectful and hung on every word I said. I was the strongest in our village so I was pretty important."

Yusuke resisted rolling his eyes and grinned. "I say it's an improvement to not listen to a moron like you then."

"It's better than listening to a hothead like you!" Kuwabara countered. "Anyway, in just the week he's been with you guys, he's so different. It's like he's broken free of his shyness somehow. He's just so…comfortable now."

Yusuke thought on it a moment. There was a knock on the window of the balcony. Yusuke turned to see Jin and Chu standing outside making faces. Yusuke slid the door open and let the two inside. As he shut the door Hiei stepped in as well. Yusuke hated when Hiei did stuff like that. He always had to be so secretive.

"What a coincidence. You guys show up as soon as the food gets here." Yusuke joked. " Well help yourselves. We're just waiting for Kurama, the girls and maybe Keiko's parents."

"We're here so wait no more!" Botan said in a sing song manner.

The guys turned to Kurama smiling at Botan's antics. Keiko giggled and walked up to Yusuke.

"Your place looks really nice, Yusuke. Thank you for letting us stay here," she said with a soft smile.

Yusuke grinned. "Yeah, no problem Keiko. You can stay as long as you want."

Chu and Jin exchanged a look and smirked. "Hey Yusuke!" Chu called, "It's been a while since we've been here. Show us your room."

Yusuke looked puzzled. "It's the same it's been since the last time you two were here."

Jin sighed, "Oh come on, Urameshi."

Jin pulled Yusuke toward his room with Chu staggering behind. Keiko watched them leave with a confused look. "That was…weird."

Jin and Chu rushed Yusuke to his room and shut the door.

"Alright, out with it! What's with you and the girl?" Chu demanded.

"Is this our version of 'girl talk'? Because it's weird guys seriously. I mean I don't have a problem talking to you, Jin, but Chu is more like my drunken uncle."

"Oh you're just stalling, hoping to distract us. How did you meet her anyway?" inquired Jin.

"What are you guys, my parents?" Yusuke complained.

"No, I'm your drunken uncle. Now fess up," countered Chu.

Yusuke sighed and rolled his eyes. He told the story of meeting Keiko and Botan at the stream in the woods.

"Urameshi, who the hell rubs the ass of a girl they first meet! She's a saint to put up with you this long," Jin exclaimed.

"Hey! My parents got down and dirty the first night they met! Not really the best examples of how a relationship is supposed to progress ya know." Yusuke pouted embarrassed.

"But you never chased girls' skirts before. It's always been about getting into a good fight," Chu grinned.

"So how long have you known her?" asked Jin.

Yusuke thought for a moment. "Uh, this is the fifth day."

"Geez, and she was already sleeping with you?"

"No, Chu! Sanosuke had trouble sleeping so she stayed with him. The only thing we've done is kiss." Yusuke replied sheepishly.

"You've already kiss her!" Jin exclaimed, ears wiggling rapidly.

"Not a long one and only once."

Chu cackled, "It's that Mazoku blood in you, mate! It makes you a horn dog just like your daddy was. I say have your fun with her. It's good to get it out at your age. How do you feel when you're around her?"

Yusuke blushed. "Honestly? I can't explain it. I really like being around her, holding her, catching her scent when she's close. And my beast has been strange with her. It's already come out twice since we've met. One was when I found that scroll. Some demon threatened to rape her. One was today with Dad. Just the thought of someone hurting her drives it crazy, drives me crazy."

Yusuke slumped on his bed angrily. "Ugh do you hear this shit I'm saying? Can you believe it? I actually sound worse than my dad with his twisted love stories."

Jin looked at Yusuke seriously. "Look Urameshi, if your beast is rising up over her, you have to stop it. I'm sure she's a fine girl, but she's still just a human girl. You don't know anything about her so quit before it get serious. Imagine the danger you'll put her in when some of these demons catch you with a human. You'll have a major weakness. With Raizen sick, you can't afford to show any flaw. That goes for the little boy too."

"Where the hell is Sanosuke supposed to go? He's got nobody."

"Send him off with the humans. It's probably better for him anyway. Safer for him." Chu answered.

Yusuke glared at the floor silently.

"Oh geez, you latched on to him too already? Were you not hugged enough as a kid that you've come to scooping up orphans now?" Chu said exasperated.

"I'll think about it okay? Are we done now? I do have guests out there." Yusuke pushed pass his two friends and walked back out to the living room.

"Finally! You guys were in there forever. We even left to give Keiko's parents some food." Botan commented.

"Sorry, but anyway what were you talking about?" Yusuke asked half-heartedly.

Yusuke sat on his couch farthest away from Keiko. She noticed, but decided not to say anything. Jin and Chu came out, smiling as before. Kurama looked at Yusuke, concerned. He seemed to be avoiding eye contact with everyone, stuck in his thoughts. The group had more small talk, but the three demons' reappearance had brought an elephant in the room, and the conversations were awkward and stressed.

"Well, this has all been nice, but perhaps we should retire for the night. There's so much to discuss and do tomorrow." Kurama appealed.

"That's fine by me. I didn't come to share sentiments with these fools anyway." Hiei added.

Yusuke didn't make any objections. Instead he stood up and walked to the door. He opened it, a clear indicator he wanted everyone out. Kuwabara grumbled, taking another slice of pizza before heading to his room. Jin looked unfazed, walking out. Chu followed behind, but not before giving Yusuke a pat on the back as a bit of encouragement. Yusuke shrugged it off.

Keiko gave a small pout. She had wanted to spend just a little more time with Yusuke and find out more about him. Kurama was too coy, and Hiei was too reserved to tell her anything, but she'd hoped that Chu or Jin would open up. However, whatever they had said to Yusuke in his room had completely ruined his mood and she knew she'd have to be patient. She stood to go along with Botan.

"Well, I guess we'll leave too. Bye Yusuke," said Keiko quietly.

He offered her a smile and a soft, "Goodnight Keiko."

Botan cleared her throat exaggeratedly. Yusuke looked at her. "Night Botan. I'm sure fox boy will walk you to your rooms now, right Kurama?"

Kurama nodded, leading the girls out. Yusuke turned to see Hiei already gone. Yusuke walked to his room. He stopped and knocked on Sanosuke's door. When he didn't hear an answer, he cracked the door open. Sanosuke was fast asleep with the TV still on. He was sprawled on top of his bed. Yusuke turned the TV off and pulled the covers over Sanosuke. He sat on the bed and watched Sanosuke. Was he helping him by keeping the boy there? Would Sanosuke be safer without him?

Yusuke groaned. He went to his own room and crashed on his bed frustrated. He just wanted to sleep his problems away. Morning came all too quickly. Pu nudged Yusuke frantically, even pecking at his head after a while.

"Stop it, Pu. Five more minutes." Yusuke moaned turning away.

"Puuu! Puu!" Pu wailed pointing to a corner of the room. A chuckled emerged from the corner, deep and low.

Yusuke's eyes sprung open. He turned over "Ah, what the hell are you doing here? How did you even get in?"

Raizen stood. "A father can't come to see his son? What's the matter? You too big and cool to give your old man a hug after such a long time?"

Yusuke sat up and pushed his covers away. "Why are you here?"

"To train you. Now get up. You've avoided your duties long enough."

"Seriously? I really had some other stuff to do and shouldn't we come up with a plan for whoever is after you?" said Yusuke cleaning his ear.

"You are the plan. Simply get stronger and kill the traitor. You need to show the people you have power and a sense of honor. You can't afford to lose possible allies if a war were to begin. Now let's go."

"It's only eight in the morning. I can't even get any breakfast?"

Raizen sighed and threw a cardboard box at Yusuke. He had predicted he would be childish like this. Yusuke opened the box and it was filled with croissants and Danishes.

"Oh, man this all looks good." Yusuke looked up at his dad.

"What though? No sausage to go with it?" he grinned.

Raizen glared. "Hurry up and eat you ungrateful bastard. Then get dressed so we can begin."

Yusuke scarfed down a couple croissants and a cheese Danish before showering and getting dressed. He put on his white sleeveless karate uniform, tied with a yellow sash. He set the remaining pastries on the counter for Sanosuke and Kuwabara along with a note saying where he was. Yusuke quietly swung Sanosuke's door open and plopped Pu on the little boy's bed. Sanosuke snored lightly.

"Alright Pu. Watch him and keep out of trouble."

Raizen stood outside the door. "Enough, quit stalling with the boy."

Yusuke walked out the room. The two left the building without a word. As they pasted his father's castle, Yusuke began to tense up. He looked over to Raizen who had a casual smirk adorning his face. He gave away nothing to where or how they'd be training. Yusuke was nervous. Finally Raizen stopped in a clearing. He stood across from Yusuke.

"I want to see you in your full demonic form."

Yusuke reared back shocked. "What? I can't control my beast in that form. It does whatever it wants! I could kill people."

Raizen smiled. "Everything you've ever done has been pathetic and half-assed. I want you to put your all in something and I'm not asking you to control your beast. I want to speak to him."

Yusuke raised his brow. "Speak to him? About what?"

"When you attacked me, your beast came out to protect that girl. You had a look in your eyes. You were really going to kill me if you had to. I want to know why, from him."

Yusuke had wondered that himself and if unleashing his beast could really give him some clarity about himself, he would do it. Yusuke closed his eyes, calling forth his demonic energy. His black hair lengthen to his ankles and spiraled around his face. The markings of the Mazoku appeared on his face, chest and arms. Raizen narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"You're still not giving your all, boy. I see I'll have to bring him out."

Raizen lifted his hand and flicked his finger. The red beam of demonic energy slashed across Yusuke's chest. Yusuke fell back gripping at his chest. Raizen ran and materialized behind him, slamming Yusuke's head into the ground. Raizen stepped back, waiting. Yusuke moaned, pulling himself up and trying to rub the dirt out of his wound.

"Still not there yet? Well I suppose you can handle more in your half demon form. I'll try harder then." Raizen said casually.

Raizen punched Yusuke in the stomach repeatedly, holding him by his shirt until it tore away. He ignored the blood Yusuke coughed on him. Raizen kicked him in the side and sent him tumbling in the woods, through trees until he rolled to a stop. Raizen walked up to him. He glared when he saw his son's eyes begin to dull.

"Oh no you don't!" Raizen punched Yusuke in the face, lightning twisting around his fist.

He grabbed Yusuke by his neck and flew up with a white streak of light behind them. The air thinned and Yusuke gasped and wheezed.

"Didn't I say I didn't want you half-assing things, boy? You better bring him out because there's no way you'll survive this fall otherwise!"

Yusuke gripped Raizen's wrist weakly, "Dad, don't."

Raizen head-butted Yusuke as he let him go. Blood trickled from Yusuke's head and fell after him as his body rocketed toward the ground. Raizen watched him crash, taking out even more trees in the process. He flew down, his eyes darting to where he saw Yusuke drop. He walked through the wreckage, pushing over tree trunks and large clumps of dirt.

"Looking for someone?"

Raizen smirked and turned around, "There he is. I was afraid that I'd had gone too far, but I see it was exactly what you needed."

Yusuke smirked back and said coolly. "That was quite the beating. You really could have killed us, old man."

His voice was lower, a baritone. His eyes were red, small and piercing like his father's. His black hair had turned white. His skin had darkened and his muscles were even more defined. Yusuke wiped the blood from his head, giving a sadistic chuckle.

"You're a real bastard to do that to your only son. I couldn't imagine dying by your hands though."

Raizen walked towards him. "You wouldn't have let that happen without a fight anyway. Now, let's get to business."

**Woohoo! Another chapter done and for the first time ever, I've updated just a week later! Yeah so Yusuke's beast can only have full reign with Yusuke is in full demon form, but he tends to act more like Raizen. Yusuke hears, sees, and understands everything that's going on, but he doesn't have that control to add his two cents. There wasn't really any sweet moments with Keiko and Yusuke, sorry about that. I may have a small one in the next chapter. The next chapter : The Beast Speaks! Don't forget to favorite, follow, and review!**

P.S. below is what I described the rooms to be kinda.

**Yusuke's apartment (in my mind lol)**

Go to varrell dot com and add to the url (take out the space)

/15-comfortable-contemporary-bachelor-pad-decorati ng-ideas/comfortable-contemporary-bachelor-pad-dec orating-ideas-image-02-open-plan-apartment-by-elft ug/

**Sanosuke and Kuwabara's room**

Go to interiornity dot com and add to the url (take out the space)

/pictures/1920x1440-chic-gray-blue-bedroom-design- with-charcoal-gray-walls-paint-color


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